A recent trip to Manhattan left me dreaming of lemons, bees, and daffodils. No, I did not go on a farm tour; I simply looked up at the designs plastered on the sides of buildings and on billboards. Everywhere I turned my eyes met Apple’s new advertising campaign: Hello Yellow. Hello Yellow in the Flatiron District, Hello Yellow in Soho, Hello Yellow in Midtown, Hello Yellow in Chelsea. 

All of this “yellow” talk is to promote Apple’s new lineup of phones, which now includes a yellow variant of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models. Yes, there are dozens of billboards to promote a new phone color. And this is a fairly common occurrence.

Apple releases a new phone color approximately five months after an iPhone’s initial launch in order to entice shoppers to take a second glance at their lineup. Last year, for the iPhone 13, green was in season, while two years ago the iPhone 12 received a very purple makeover. This time, though, eye-searing yellow was selected, and it sure is making its rounds.

I was interested in looking at this “yellow” myself, so I took a trip to Apple’s West 14th Street store. Upon walking by the store and looking through the window, I was nearly brought to saying “Hello Yellow” myself. Nevertheless, I persevered, remaining calm, until I held my match. 

It was just as loud as I expected.

Most buyers lean towards more muted phone colors, and for good reason. Dull colors clash less with protective cases, and when the phone is in use, the metal frame surrounding the screen is less distracting. For the one warrior who can overcome such a mighty yellow, this is the perfect pièce de résistance. For everyone else, this phone is too… much. The entire back of the phone is covered in a layer of reflective yellow glass and the metal frame is anodized in an almost gold color. This draws too much attention to the device itself rather than the content displayed on its screen. Quite frankly, within thirty seconds I was tired of the yellow color and retreated back to the outside world where I would only have to deal with the invasive advertisements.

Verdict? If you are in the market for a new phone, choose the typical starlight (white), midnight (black), or blue, or wait for the release of the new iPhones later this year.