iPhone 16 Pro Varying grip across Pro titanium finishes?

[Nikhil72]

Thanks for your observations. You are not alone!
This lines up with my experience very closely.
(Were the brushed 15 Pro colors like this? As-in this variable? Or, is this the first year to be wary about grip across different colors?)
I also go case-less. I was able to test the black Pro and white Pro at home, and extensively tested the other colors in-store (on 3 separate visits!).

I initially got (and still have) the black one. I almost returned it because, while being the most tacky, I did/do not like the overall feeling.

I was going to go white, because I think it looks great. But that thing is slippery as a fish. I just don't trust the grip.
After reading your commentary I now have some FOMO about the Natural Titanium.

In-store, the Desert was pretty close to the white, though perhaps having slightly more grip.
In my experience the Natural was closer to the black in terms of grip, but the "squeakiness" was less pronounced.
I could see how that could potentially make the Natural the best middle-ground choice between feeling good in-hand, yet providing enough grip.

I ended up keeping the black Pro, and am out of the return period at this point.

It's almost as though the "bar of soap" white Pro is the most "natural metal" (despite there being another color called "Natural"), while the other colors have various levels of PVD(?) coatings that are providing these grip discrepancies.

I had a natural 15PM last year and didn’t really notice a difference in texture since I wasn’t really aware and was thrilled with the grippiness of the natural finish. Now that I settled on the black, it’s easily the most tacky/least slippery case free iPhone I’ve used in recent years, which is great, but I have no idea if the 15PM had varying textures across the board

 

[robotphood]

Thanks for your observations. You are not alone!
This lines up with my experience very closely.
(Were the brushed 15 Pro colors like this? As-in this variable? Or, is this the first year to be wary about grip across different colors?)
I also go case-less. I was able to test the black Pro and white Pro at home, and extensively tested the other colors in-store (on 3 separate visits!).

I initially got (and still have) the black one. I almost returned it because, while being the most tacky, I did/do not like the overall feeling.

I was going to go white, because I think it looks great. But that thing is slippery as a fish. I just don't trust the grip.
After reading your commentary I now have some FOMO about the Natural Titanium.

In-store, the Desert was pretty close to the white, though perhaps having slightly more grip.
In my experience the Natural was closer to the black in terms of grip, but the "squeakiness" was less pronounced.
I could see how that could potentially make the Natural the best middle-ground choice between feeling good in-hand, yet providing enough grip.

I ended up keeping the black Pro, and am out of the return period at this point.

It's almost as though the "bar of soap" white Pro is the most "natural metal" (despite there being another color called "Natural"), while the other colors have various levels of PVD(?) coatings that are providing these grip discrepancies.

Thanks for your observations. You are not alone!
This lines up with my experience very closely.
(Were the brushed 15 Pro colors like this? As-in this variable? Or, is this the first year to be wary about grip across different colors?)
I also go case-less. I was able to test the black Pro and white Pro at home, and extensively tested the other colors in-store (on 3 separate visits!).

I initially got (and still have) the black one. I almost returned it because, while being the most tacky, I did/do not like the overall feeling.

I was going to go white, because I think it looks great. But that thing is slippery as a fish. I just don't trust the grip.
After reading your commentary I now have some FOMO about the Natural Titanium.

In-store, the Desert was pretty close to the white, though perhaps having slightly more grip.
In my experience the Natural was closer to the black in terms of grip, but the "squeakiness" was less pronounced.
I could see how that could potentially make the Natural the best middle-ground choice between feeling good in-hand, yet providing enough grip.

I ended up keeping the black Pro, and am out of the return period at this point.

It's almost as though the "bar of soap" white Pro is the most "natural metal" (despite there being another color called "Natural"), while the other colors have various levels of PVD(?) coatings that are providing these grip discrepancies.

I skipped the 15 so I didn’t have much experience with it other than briefly in the store. You described the black perfectly. It was the originally color I purchased but returned it for the natural. Besides being so slippery, I don’t like how the rails look on the white phone. IMO, at some angles it looks like silver paint rather than metal. I think the natural titanium rails on the white back would be perfect.

 

[Ean Holdings]

Stopped by the Apple Store tonight to return my Desert Pro and spent a few minutes comparing the different Pro finishes.

What @YaBoiD mentioned seems accurate - the Black Titanium felt like it had the most grip, and just slightly more than the Natural. Those two finishes felt like they were tier above White and Desert, which both felt more "painted" to me in terms of texture (although Apple describes all as having the new microblasted finish).

Here's how I would rank them, each with a slight but noticeable difference imo:

1. Black
2. Natural
3. White
4. Desert

To help keep me sane - would love to hear from others if they stop by a store or have multiple finishes to try. Can't rule out finish variance or placebo playing a factor.

I got a chance to use each color for a few days and I echo these findings. I settled for a black 16 pro. The grip wasn’t the primary reason but it added to the reasons I liked the black.