When Apple first showed off the new, unibody slate and black iPhone 5, I referred to it as Vader black. I liked the look so much, I escalated it by going retro-black with my Lock screen and Home screen wallpapers. Then, when AnoStyle was announced, I immediately wanted to take it one step further. I wanted the Blackout look you see on high-end watches and cars. Problem was, AnoStyle didn't offer black anodization. Not yet, at least...
So I bugged Ally and her Ano-Ninja accomplice, Rob, and volunteered to be test subject zero for their first-ever Blackout iPhone 5. They agreed, I bought a new phone for them to try it out on, and as you can see from the results above and below, they did not fail to delight.
If you turn it into the sun or bright light, it looks like a normal black and slate iPhone 5, only several shades deeper and darker. If you turn it away from the sun, it's matte black as the emptiness of space. It's so black, only the slight difference in refraction of the Apple logo and iPhone lettering can be seen, darker or brighter, shadowed or gleaming across its back.
If you hold the the blacker-than-Vader black iPhone next to a regular black and slate iPhone 5, the difference is immediately apparent. Above is a shot I took with a 5D Mark III and f/1.4 lens under Hue LED lighting. However, in normal use it's understated and subtle and almost no one will notice anything different about it all alone and at a glance. I love that, and more than one friend I showed it off to at Macworld|iWorld could only smile and mumble "damn" as well. Others may prefer being loud and colorful and shiny in red or blue or gold. I wanted something simple and pure and authentic and utterly capable of getting lost any and every time I leave it on a dark surface.
I wanted stealth. And that's what I got.
More: AnoStyle.
