Why Apple Discontinued Product Red
Last month, Apple discontinued the iPhone SE and replaced it with the 16e. Which only comes in black and white. So why did Apple take the red color away? The answer is likely cost-cutting.
Since 2007, Apple has raised about $270 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS through Bono’s charity organization RED. It turned out that he and Steve Jobs were close friends.
So Apple was happy to partner up and create RED-branded products. It began with iPod nano, and Apple donated $10 for every RED unit sold in the US. But back then, Apple was only selling about 15 million iPod nanos a year. With a fraction of those being the RED version. So the amount Apple donated annually didn’t add up to very much.
But when Product RED came to iPhone in 2016, Apple was selling about 150 million total units a year. Although they never disclosed how much was being donated for each RED unit sold.
Then, they expanded their product RED lineup to include iPhone cases, the Apple Watch, watch bands, and even an Apple Pencil case. Apple also began holding RED promotional events celebrating World AIDS Day. Donating a dollar for every app store, online store, and in-store purchase made using Apple Pay.
But these promotional events had a $1 million dollar fundraising cap. Whereas Apple’s Product RED hardware didn’t limit the total amount raised. By 2021, Apple’s $270 million in donations represented about a third of all money raised by the organization. And while that’s a tiny amount compared to Apple’s hundreds of billions in annual revenue, it’s still an expense that can be cut.
So they began by removing Product RED from their hardware and accessories. Starting with the iPhone 15 in 2023, the Apple Watch in 2024, and the iPhone SE in 2025. That means Apple no longer sells any device in Product RED. And in the process, they’ve saved some money. Because for the most recent World AIDS Day about three months ago, they raised the fundraising cap for their 10 day promotional event from one million, to three million.
But that’s far less than the tens of millions they previously donated annually from Product RED hardware. A color that’s unlikely to return to Apple’s devices.
