The iPhone 18 Pro has been on sale for less than two weeks, and it already has a problem no software update can fix. Owners of the $1,199 phone are reporting discoloration around the rear camera housing, with pinkish halos forming around the triple lenses on Burgundy and Black models. Cleaning does not help. In some cases, the phones arrived that way out of the box.
The complaints, covered by the New York Post on Sept 29, describe a defect at the hardware level. One owner wrote that the area around the camera lenses looked “slightly lighter/pinkish compared to the surrounding camera housing,” adding that there was no oil, residue, or dirt, and that careful cleaning changed nothing. Others report the same on the Pro Max: “Everyone that is saying you just need to wipe it off is wrong, it does not wipe off. It is a discoloration on the unit.”
Some buyers have already asked for full refunds. “Mine is horrible. Already on its way back to Apple,” one owner wrote. Korean outlets add that paint is also peeling from the frame on some units, citing Seoul Economic Daily via Gizchina, with the problems linked to the same aluminum alloy used on the iPhone 17 Pro, which had its own finish complaints last year.
Pink halos on Burgundy and Black; Silver and Glacier unaffected
So far, the discoloration reports cluster around two finishes. Owners of Silver and the pale blue “Glacier” models report no pigment problems at all, which suggests the issue is tied to how the darker finishes are applied rather than something all iPhone 18 Pros share.
| Finish | Discoloration reported | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Burgundy | Yes | Pinkish halos around the triple lenses; some units two-toned out of the box |
| Black | Yes | Same pinkish lightening around the camera housing; out-of-the-box cases reported |
| Silver | No | No pigment complaints reported as of Sept 29 |
| Glacier (pale blue) | No | No pigment complaints reported as of Sept 29 |
The $1,199 iPhone 18 Pro starts at Rs 1,64,900 for the 256GB base model in India, with the Pro Max at $1,299 and Rs 1,79,900. At that price, a finish that changes color within days is not a minor cosmetic quirk, which is exactly why some owners are treating it as a return case rather than a repair case.
Timeline: the iPhone 18 Pro’s rough first two weeks
The first two weeks, in order:
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 18, 2026 | iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max go on sale | Apple |
| Sept 23 | 9to5Mac reports Face ID failure can freeze the phone and force a reboot | 9to5Mac |
| Sept 28 | iOS 27.0.1 released, fixing the Face ID reboot bug, a 2x photo color artifact, and a touchscreen freeze | Apple / 9to5Mac |
| Sept 28 | Techaeris reports green and pink vertical screen lines on some units, pointing to a display hardware fault | Techaeris |
| Sept 29 | Discoloration reports surface: pinkish halos around camera lenses on Burgundy and Black models; paint peeling reported in Korea | NY Post, Gizchina / Seoul Economic Daily |
We covered the iOS 27.0.1 release and what it fixes when it landed. The discoloration is not among its three fixes, because it cannot be: this is a hardware finish problem, not software. The screen lines reported by Techaeris also fall outside the update.
Anodization and the iPhone 17 Pro precedent
The likely explanation is the coloring process. Both the iPhone 17 Pro and 18 Pro use anodization, in which the aluminum frame is submerged in an electrolytic bath to form a porous aluminum oxide layer that absorbs pigment. AppleInsider, cited by the NY Post, notes that an improperly applied seal can leave the finish vulnerable to contaminants like water or skin oils, any of which can shift the hue.
The Korean reports make the alloy link explicit. Months before launch, a Weibo leaker claimed the iPhone 18 Pro would use the same aluminum alloy as the iPhone 17 Pro, a material already linked to chipping and fading after regular use. The NY Post adds that iPhone 17 Pro owners complained its Cosmic Orange model shifted toward pink within weeks of launch. Different colors, different years, same family of finish problems.
Apple has not issued a formal statement about the discoloration as of Sept 29. Apple Korea is reportedly looking into the complaints, and in at least one crash case Apple replaced the phone outright.
What owners should do now: the 14-day return window is the leverage
The most practical detail in this story is the clock. Apple gives buyers 14 calendar days from the date they received the phone to return it for a full refund, and the phone must come back with its cords, adapters, and documentation. For launch-day buyers, that window closes Oct 2. Phones bought through a carrier or another retailer follow that seller’s return rules instead.
After the window closes, the fallback is Apple’s one-year warranty, which typically means a repair or replacement rather than a refund, and time without the phone. For a finish defect that is visible on day one, a return is the stronger option. Here is a sensible sequence:
- Document the defect now. Photograph the discoloration in good light, with timestamps, before and after cleaning, so there is no debate about whether it is residue or damage.
- Install iOS 27.0.1 first. Get the software issues off the table through Settings, General, Software Update. If the phone has the Face ID reboot bug or screen lines, the update rules out (or confirms) the hardware question.
- Do not wait past the return date. If the discoloration is present and you want out, return within the 14-day window. Oct 2 is the deadline for Sept 18 buyers.
- If you keep the phone, go through Apple Support. Apple has already replaced units and issued refunds in some crash cases, so a documented finish defect should get a similar hearing. Save every support reference number.
Owners who have not yet seen discoloration should keep an eye on the camera housing over the coming weeks, especially on Burgundy and Black finishes, since some complaints describe the pinkish halos developing with handling rather than arriving out of the box.
A finish problem at a finish-first price
The iPhone 18 Pro is being sold, in part, on its finishes, and Burgundy, one of the headline colors, has the most complaints. If the problem traces to the anodization seal, it needs a manufacturing answer, not another point-one update. For now, the safest move for an affected buyer is the simplest one: act while the return window is open.
For more context, see our iPhone Duo vs iPhone 18 Pro Max breakdown and Flipkart’s iPhone 17 deals for buyers weighing last year’s model, plus our iOS 27.2 beta deep dive for what is coming next.
