Technologies

I Tried Turning My Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pink. Here’s What Happened

There are reports that some orange iPhone 17s are turning pink. I tried to recreate it myself. Because pink is great.

There are reports on Reddit of the Cosmic Orange version of the iPhone 17 Pro turning pink. As PCMag’s Eric Zeman noted, it’s likely that the phone came into contact with cleaning substances that affected the finish, turning it from vibrant orange to an equally outrageous pink. I love pink phones and the idea of a hot pink iPhone 17 Pro filled me with joy so I wanted to see if I could test the theory and see just what cleaning with the wrong products can do to your phone.

It’s important to note here that the iPhone 17 Pro I used was bought by CNET for the purposes of testing. Had I paid over $1,000 of my own money I wouldn’t be so reckless in intentionally smearing it in chemicals that could harm to such an expensive device. And you shouldn’t either. If you need to clean your phone, do it safely. Disclaimer aside, let’s dive in.

The chemicals

I bought two chemicals to test this out. Zeman explains that it may be oxidation that caused the color to change and that hydrogen peroxide could do this. I couldn’t find this over the counter in the UK, so I instead bought an ‘oxy-active’ stain remover spray that, among other things, contains «oxygen-based bleaching agents» which sounded ideal. Apple also clearly states «don’t use products containing bleach or hydrogen peroxide» on its support page so, naturally, I bought some thick bleach too.

Oxy application

I started by spraying the oxy cleaner on a microfiber cloth until it was noticeably wet from the liquid and then liberally applied this all over the rear of the iPhone. The Reddit user with the affected phone showed that it only affected the metal parts, not the glass back panel, so I made sure to focus my attention on the sides and camera bar.

With the phone well and truly doused in chemicals that have no business being anywhere near a phone, I left it to sit and think about what it’s done for 30 minutes — after which time I wiped it dry and took a close inspection. Disappointingly, my phone was still factory orange, rather than ‘what the hell have you done to your phone’ pink. Time to move on.

Bleach blast

I opened the bleach and trying hard not to think about my days as a middle school cleaner, applied a liberal blob of the stuff to a cloth and smeared it over the defenceless phone, concentrating again on the metal areas. I definitely should have worn protective gloves for all of this so please make sure you take better care of yourself than I do if you do anything with bleach.

Again, I gave it a 30-minute settling in period before cleaning it off and inspecting the results.

The phone remained as orange as ever, looking as box fresh as it was the day before when it was, indeed, box fresh. The orange color hadn’t changed and now almost 24 hours later there’s still no sign of discoloration of any kind.

Is the pink iPhone 17 real?

I can’t say with any certainty whether the Reddit user’s images of a pink iPhone 17 Pro are real or not. The cuddly human side of me wants to take them at their word, while the journalist in me is sceptical. What I can say with certainty is that putting your orange iPhone into close contact with household cleaning products isn’t going to win you a funky, ultra-rare pink hue that you could sell on eBay for a small fortune.

It’s possible that using pure peroxide could be the thing that does it, but to be honest, if you’re going out of your way to throw industrial-grade chemicals at your phone then you may as well just directly try and dye it. My goal here was to see how susceptible the orange model is to everyday household cleaners such as kitchen cleaner or bathroom bleach — the sort of things it might naturally come into contact with in routine use. And what I’ve found is that, no, it won’t ruin the nice orange color. But it’s probably still not good for your phone.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 24, #958

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 24 #958.

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 bit challenging, especially the purple category, as always. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times 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.

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: Think Muhammad Ali.

Green group hint: We won!

Blue group hint: Fashion element.

Purple group hint: Winter weather.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Gear for a boxer.

Green group: Championship.

Blue group: Kinds of necklines.

Purple group: Snow ____.

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is gear for a boxer. The four answers are gloves, mouthguard, robe and shorts.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is championship. The four answers are award, crown, cup and title.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of necklines. The four answers are boat, crew, halter and scoop.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is snow ____. The four answers are cone, globe, leopard and pea.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 24, #488

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 24, No. 488.

Looking for the most recent regular 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 and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one, particularly that purple group, which wants you to find hidden words inside four of the words in the puzzle. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

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

Yellow group hint: Smack!

Green group hint: Collectibles.

Blue group hint: Puck pros.

Purple group hint: Toss it.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Hit.

Green group: Sports memorabilia.

Blue group: Former NHL teams, in singular form.

Purple group: Ends in a synonym for throw.

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

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is hit. The four answers are deck, punch, slug and strike.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports memorabilia. The four answers are autograph, jersey, poster and trading card.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is former NHL teams, in singular form. The four answers are Coyote, Nordique, Thrasher and Whaler.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in a synonym for throw. The four answers are blob (lob), shuffling (fling), surpass (pass) and woodchuck (chuck).

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Soon, You Can Cut Through Stadium Cellular Congestion With Turbo Live by AT&T

AT&T’s new feature promises clear phone service during crowded events like the Super Bowl and concerts, even for T-Mobile and Verizon customers.

Attending a sports game at a stadium can be fun, but when the crowded stands are filled with people trying to use their phones at the same time, it’s hard to get good cellular reception. AT&T is launching a new service to beef up cellular service in congested venues like these, and you don’t need to be an AT&T subscriber to use it.

Turbo Live by AT&T provides priority cellular performance during big sports and concert events, and will first roll out in 10 US stadiums in early February. Yes, that’ll be in time for the Super Bowl on Feb. 8, if you’re going to be in Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area.

AT&T has yet to formally announce pricing. Currently, there’s a web page to sign up for announcements. However, Rob Pegoraro at PCMag got more details from AT&T spokesperson Michael Delgado, who wrote to him in an email, «Turbo Live starts at $5 per event with a variable structure that changes depending on the caliber of the event.»

Pegoraro said that Turbo Live is not an ongoing subscription open to any customer: «Instead, it’s a power-up offered only in designated spots and subject to capacity limits and variable rates that might evoke surge pricing.»

A spokesperson for AT&T confirmed that Turbo Live is using AT&T’s existing 5G network that covers the following 10 stadiums:

• Alabama (Bryant Denny Stadium)
• Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
• Chicago (United Center)
• Houston (NRG Stadium)
• Las Vegas (Sphere)
• Los Angeles (Intuit Dome)
• Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)
• New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium)
• San Antonio (Alamodome)
• San Francisco Bay Area (Levi’s Stadium)
• Seattle (Lumen Field)

AT&T is also working to expand coverage in Dallas (AT&T Stadium), Foxborough (Gillette Stadium) and Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium).

You’ll need a 5G-capable phone, which AT&T says may need to be unlocked, and an open eSIM slot for activation.

The latter detail is what makes Turbo Live available to Verizon and T-Mobile customers with unlocked phones: The feature is installed as a secondary eSIM. A Connect on Demand app will provide instructions for setting it up, which will involve a «one-time payment method» with no carrier commitment needed, according to AT&T.

Running a separate service as a secondary eSIM is becoming more common. It’s one of the easiest ways to get international phone service when you’re traveling, and is also how T-Mobile offers its T-Satellite feature to customers of other carriers for $10 a month.

I’ve reached out to AT&T for more details.