Apple’s latest product launch has generated plenty of excitement, but BLACKPINK member Rosé unexpectedly became one of the biggest talking points after fans questioned the appearance of an iPhone featured in a promotional post.

The technology giant introduced its latest range of products on Wednesday, September 9, including the highly anticipated iPhone 18 Pro in a new burgundy colour. As part of the launch promotion, Apple shared a joint post featuring Rosé holding the new device.

The post was accompanied by a caption that read, “iPhone, new trick, watch this, watch this ahhh,” apparently teasing a new project involving the South Korean singer. However, rather than focusing immediately on the upcoming music release, many fans turned their attention to the phone shown in the photograph.

In the image, Rosé appears with blonde hair while looking sideways and holding a burgundy-coloured iPhone 18 Pro. Several social media users quickly claimed that the device looked digitally added or edited, with some questioning whether the photograph had been manipulated.

“This kinda looks photoshoped,” one user commented. The remark became the top comment on the post and reportedly collected more than 100,000 likes.

Other fans also expressed similar doubts. One user asked, “Yall didn’t send her the real one?” while another questioned, “why this looking like edited???”

A different commenter suggested that the image appeared obviously edited, writing, “this is edited and it’s obvious who went ahead with this.”

Another fan directly addressed Rosé, saying, “Rosie I love u but that Iphone looks so fake.”

The unusual reaction quickly became part of the online discussion surrounding Apple’s latest product launch and its collaboration with the BLACKPINK star.

Rosé and Apple’s upcoming music collaboration

Alongside the promotional image, Apple has also revealed details about a new song from Rosé titled “new trick.” The track is scheduled for release on September 17 and has reportedly been filmed entirely using the iPhone 18 Pro.

The upcoming music video is expected to continue Apple’s long-running Shot on iPhone campaign. It is directed by filmmaker Dave Meyers, who previously worked with BLACKPINK on the music video for their song “Jump.”

Speaking to Vogue, Rosé revealed that she wrote the new song during a particularly busy period. She explained that the track was created just two days after the Met Gala in New York.

According to the singer, the song was deliberately written to have a lighter and happier tone. She described it as potentially the cutest project she and her collaborators have created.

“Ultimately, we successfully wrote something so not sad,” Rosé said, adding that “Apt.” might still hold the title of their cutest song and leaving fans to decide.

Meanwhile, Apple has announced that pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will begin on Saturday, September 12. The latest models are expected to become available to customers from Friday, September 18.

While the new iPhone lineup remains the main focus of Apple’s launch, Rosé’s unusual promotional photograph has added an unexpected layer of fan discussion to the company’s latest campaign.

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