Should Apple sell special edition iPhones in partnership with other companies?

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By Oliver Haslam
published

Ironman Iphone 13 Pro Concept
Ironman Iphone 13 Pro Concept (Image credit: ConceptsiPhone)

Earlier today I shared a post about a bright red iPhone 13 Pro concept that used Iron Man as part of the artwork. A bright red iPhone with a bright red character on the front — and it got me wondering. Imagine if there was an iPhone 13 Pro Iron Man Edition.

Now, I know that sounds like a mouthful and frankly, it is. But ignoring that, there is precedent for companies doing things like this. We just need to look over to the green side of the smartphone world to see it.

Oneplus 6 Marvel

Oneplus 6 Marvel (Image credit: Android Central)

Back in 2018, Android fans had the OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Edition to look forward to. It didn't look great, admittedly, but it was a tie-in that existed and I'm sure someone bought it. It was exclusive to India and China, though.

Samsung made the Galaxy S6 edge Iron Man Limited Edition that was, frankly, horrific.

Samsung Galaxy Edge Marvel

Samsung Galaxy Edge Marvel (Image credit: Samsung)

Next? What about the Huawei Mate 30 RS Porsche Design? That wasn't actually a bad one, in the grand scheme of things.

We can't forget the OnePlus 7T Pro MacLaren Edition of course, if only because I actually liked the look of that thing and almost bought one because, well, reasons.

Oneplus 7t Pro Mclaren Edition

Oneplus 7t Pro Mclaren Edition (Image credit: Android Central)

There was even the Porsche Design BlackBerry P'9982. for those who remember the Canadian phone maker.

So with all of that said, could Apple do something similar? I know it doesn't need to and iPhones already sell like crazy, but humor me. How about a dark blue iPhone 13 with the Captain America logo on the back? It could come with a special MagSafe Charger that looks like the big guy's shield, too. I'm not sure I'd want one, but there's no denying the cool factor would be off the charts. It'd make it the best iPhone ever made in one fell swoop.

How about an iPhone with some sort of Tesla tie-in? Admittedly it'd miss its ship date repeatedly and then its price would go up every other week for no reason whatsoever, but Tesla drivers are used to that so who knows.

I'm not saying Apple should follow the path already trodden by Android companies — and yes, we can't forget BlackBerry — but I genuinely do wonder whether it could. Would you buy a special edition iPhone with a tie-in of some sort?

Oh, and before I go — here's a concept video showing a very funky Iron Man iPhone concept I just found on YouTube. You're welcome.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.