(PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 Plus Gets Black Front in New Part Swap Video

Apple's new (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, released yesterday, feature a bright red aluminum casing that many are a fan of. Unfortunately, it comes equipped with a white front plate, much like the Gold, Silver, and Rose Gold iPhones, something that's been a point of criticism for people who think it would have looked better with a black front plate.

YouTuber Danny Winget recently tore apart a red iPhone 7 Plus and replaced its logic board and front plate with parts taken from a Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus, giving us a glimpse at what an actual (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 Plus with a black front would have looked like.


Winget had to replace not only the front plate but also the logic board because if he swapped just the front portion of the device, the Touch ID fingerprint sensor would have been rendered unusable.

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Apple ties the Touch ID fingerprint sensor to an iPhone's logic board and disables it for security reasons if any of the parts are swapped out. Therefore, most of the internal structure of the (PRODUCT)RED iPhone had to be replaced with parts from the Jet Black iPhone.

Purchasing an entire Jet Black iPhone 7 or 7 Plus for the purpose of creating a hybrid red/black iPhone 7 is probably out of the question for most people, but it's an interesting proof of concept.

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This method essentially ruins the Jet Black iPhone 7 involved, making it a rather pricy project, and it destroys the waterproofing seal on the red iPhone.

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It's also worth noting that this is a highly complicated process that essentially requires tearing apart two iPhones, melding them together, and hoping nothing goes wrong, something that the average person won't want to attempt.

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For a closer look at the Special Edition (PRODUCT)RED iPhone, make sure to check out our hands-on video.

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Top Rated Comments

Exponent Avatar
108 months ago
This looks far sharper than the white front. I know it cost a lot, but, good job!
Score: 72 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
108 months ago
Personally I like the white one more.
Score: 63 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zorn Avatar
108 months ago
I would swap my matte black 7 for the red iPhone if it had a black front option... dang it
Same. Ugh. Looks cheap with the white front.

Combined with not even bothering to replace the silver ring around the TouchID with a corresponding red one, this really is par for the course for Cook's Apple. Lazy, uninspired products from a successful company that went on autopilot.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zorn Avatar
108 months ago
I don't think it's "Crazy" for Apple to make a black bezel pairing with the Product Red iPhone. However, I was not shocked when Apple chose to use the white bezel. But It's a possibility the white bezel was used with the Product Red iPhone from having more parts remaining from silver iPhone, being its allegedly less popular or extra stock of that specific part.
I would be willing to bet $500 on this.

Under Jobs, if the part from the black iPhone wasn't the right shade to compliment the red aluminum, he would have had them try 15 other shades of black to find the right one. Under Cook, this is an accounting decision. Which color are we overstocked on? Yeah, perfect, use that one!
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdillings Avatar
108 months ago
A customer is more innovative than Apple itself
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nanotyrns Avatar
108 months ago
No. Just, no.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)