Technologies

Apple Wants Orange to Be the New Black. It Isn’t

Commentary: Apple finally picked a bold color for the iPhone 17 Pro and it’s U-G-L-Y.

Apple’s new idea for the iPhone 17 Pro is simple: paint it the same color as Cheeto dust, construction cones and that one Nissan you only ever see tragically idling in rental car lots. Apple may be calling it «cosmic orange,» but there’s absolutely nothing heavenly about it.

Yes, the iPhone Pro has officially gone gaudy orange… and I think we’re supposed to pretend this is exciting.

Read also: Pumpkin, Fanta or Cheetos: What Flavor of Orange Is the Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro?

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Bold colors can work. Ferrari red? Iconic. Deep midnight blue? Elegant. I even really like the iPhone 15 that’s Barbie pink. But fluorescent traffic-sign orange? That’s a statement that’ll look like a seasonal prop left over from Halloween exactly three months from now. Or, as my editor so astutely pointed out, it looks like Tim Cook is shoving his alma mater‘s hideous color palette on the innocent smartphone-wielding population of the world.

A new paint job doesn’t fix an old story. Underneath the tangerine shell, it’s the same iPhone Pro formula — slightly better cameras, slightly better battery, slightly more expensive. Apple knows the innovation list isn’t jaw-dropping or, well, «awe dropping,» this year, so it’s leaning on shock value. You don’t buy an orange iPhone for subtlety. You buy it because you want people to notice you (and then maybe question your taste).

Here’s my real issue. The iPhone has always been about balance. Style and substance, hardware and design, beauty and brains. With orange, Apple delivers neither. It’s loud without being stylish and gimmicky without adding substance. This isn’t bold minimalism. It’s pumpkin cosplay.

And the part that grinds my gears the most is that Apple has nailed colors before. Rose gold was iconic and the iPhone 12’s purple was fresh without being tacky. Even Product Red has aged gracefully.

But who remembers the yellow iPhone 14? No one. Or at least they don’t remember it with any semblance of fondness. That color felt like an Apple clearance-rack experiment from Day 1.

Instead of doubling down on road-cone chic, why not give us the colors people actually want?

I’ve been begging for an ethereal sage green iPhone for years now, and Apple finally gave us this with the regular iPhone 17 lineup, but not for the Pro. A cobalt would be a welcome change, or, heck, give us any blue that’s actually blue. Even a matte bronze would feel premium. Apple is the company that obsesses over design, yet somehow its most requested finishes never see the light of day.

Apple will spin this as a vibrant new personality for your iPhone. In reality, it’s a marketing trick dressed up as bravery. The real bravery is pulling out an orange iPhone in a meeting five years from now and convincing anyone it still looks good. (Deeply sorry to my fellow CNET staffers who love the orange shade. I hope you still like me after reading this.)

I’ll give you one thing, though. At least when you drop it face-down in the street, you’ll find it fast. It’ll be the thing glowing like a hazard sign.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Nov. 16

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 16.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? For me, 7-Across was a bit of a stumper, but I eventually solved it. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Cars that stop at Supercharger stations
Answer: TESLAS

7A clue: What «e-» can mean
Answer: ONLINE

8A clue: Words that might begin the name of a quaint English inn
Answer: YEOLDE

9A clue: What «E» can mean
Answer: EMPTY

10A clue: Easter egg colorings
Answer: DYES

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Messed (with)
Answer: TOYED

2D clue: Ally’s opposite
Answer: ENEMY

3D clue: What «m» stands for in the equation «y = mx + b»
Answer: SLOPE

4D clue: Musical cadences of speech
Answer: LILTS

5D clue: Samberg of «Brooklyn Nine-Nine»
Answer: ANDY

6D clue: «___ what I did there?»
Answer: SEE

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 16, #889

Here are some hints — and the answers — for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 16, #889.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a fun one. As a pop-culture junkie and game lover, I enjoyed the purple category. If you need help sorting the answers into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Different strokes for different folks.

Green group hint: Ho-hum.

Blue group hint: Flags often qualify.

Purple group hint: Do not pass Go.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Technique.

Green group: Run-of-the-mill.

Blue group: Stripy things.

Purple group: Words on Monopoly squares.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is technique. The four answers are approach, method, philosophy and school.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is run-of-the-mill. The four answers are banal, everday, humdrum and pedestrian.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is stripy things.The four answers are barcode, IBM logo, rugby shirt and zebra.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is words on Monopoly squares. The four answers are avenue, parking, railroad and tax.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 16 #623

Here are hints — and answers — for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 16, No. 623.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is tough. It’s a weird theme, and some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Around it goes.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: They’re often on a roll.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CARE, SCARE, CRASS, SWAT, PELL, HELL, SCAR, HALT, STENT, HALTS, TENT, POLL, LOTS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

FOIL, SCARF, SHAWL, STOLE, FLATBREAD, CELLOPHANE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THATSAWRAP. To find it, start with the T that’s three letters up from the bottom of the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.