It looks like Apple will sell the iPhone in a new color this year

It looks like Apple will sell the iPhone 7 in a new color when it arrives later this year.

Earlier rumors from MacOtakara suggested Apple would release a dark blue iPhone. On Monday, however, the Japanese Apple blog now claims Apple will introduce a black color option instead (via Apple Insider).

MacOtakara claims the black color is darker than the current Space Gray iPhone's color, and it will replace the Space Gray color rather than being an entirely new color option.

Technically, it's not Apple's first black iPhone. There has been a black option from the very first model in 2007 until the iPhone 4s. The "Space Gray" color was introduced with the iPhone 5's metallic back, and it's certainly more gray than it is black.

If the rumor is true, however, it would be Apple's first black iPhone with a metal design. That said, it's still possible we might see another color aside from space gray or space black, like the dark blue color rumored earlier. It would certainly make sense given how Apple already sells a rose gold (a.k.a. pink) version of the iPhone; a dark blue color would be a nice complement to that.

Other rumors about the iPhone 7 claim the larger Plus model will have a dual camera while the regular model will not. The white plastic antenna stripes on the back of the current iPhone 6 generation will also be redesigned so they're not so visible on the back of the iPhone 7.

Note that none of these rumors confirm any actual details about Apple's next iPhone. Everyone, including us at Tech Insider, have to wait until Apple's iPhone event in September to get the official details.