Apple iPhone 5 Accessories: Change The Color Of Your iPhone Or iPad Mini With AnoStyle [PHOTOS]

Apple might sell its next iPhone in a wider variety of colors later this year, but there’s currently a way to change the color of your iPhone 5 iPad Mini or iPod that looks beautiful and totally seamless.

Regardless if you own a white or black iPhone 5, you can add brilliant color to your iPhone and make it into an instant collector’s item with the help of AnoStyle, the Rochester, Mich.-based color customization service.

Check out these gorgeous photos of color-transformed iPhone 5 devices, courtesy of AnoStyle:

“We offer you a custom color experience like no other,” the company says on its website. “We’re perfectionists around here. We seek excellence and have refined our cutting-edge color processes in order to give our customers the very best experience possible.”

Here’s how it works: First, decide if you really want your iPhone 5 in a different color, because once you have it AnoStyle’d, there’s no going back. The process is not reversible.

“AnoStyle uses our own unique method of color anodization to alter the color and lock it in,” the company says on its website. “It is a permanent color change and expression of style. By not just painting or wrapping your device, AnoStyle allows you to maintain the original size and feel of your device.”

Once you decide to change the color of your iPhone 5, you need to send your device into AnoStyle’s headquarters. AnoStyle advises customers to remove their SIM cards (where applicable) and asks customers to not send anything else along with the device, including other accessories. Once the iPhone 5 is sent in, make sure there’s no passcode so the company can unlock it. AnoStyle goes through a 21-point test “to ensure your phone is working perfectly.”

In an email to IBTimes, AnoStyle owner Ally Kazmucha explained why the iPhone 5 needs the company’s 21-point test.

“We cannot put the entire device through anodization,” Kazmucha said. “It would completely destroy the internals. We have to completely strip the device when we receive it, and the back aluminum casing is the only thing that goes through anodization. After it comes back, the phone is rebuilt.

“This is why we perform the tests, to make sure everything was reassembled properly and the owner receives a phone in perfect condition. These tests include testing camera functionality; placing test calls; testing sensors, volume controls and all other buttons; and obvious things like screen sensitivity, etc.”

Your iPhone 5 or iPad Mini, once it’s received by AnoStyle, takes roughly two weeks (not counting transportation time) to complete its color transformation, which involves a “specialized chemical process that creates the desired color change” to ensure the device doesn’t chip or wear like most paints and coatings do.

“Anodization is durable and should not wear over time,” AnoStyle said. “It should hold up to normal wear and tear better than traditional processes as long as you take good care of your device. Dropping or mishandling your device can still cause damage, but, when it comes to normal use, AnoStyle will hold up better than other color treatment options and the paint services that other companies offer.”

The iPhone 5 can be changed into 14 different colors, including gold, green, blue, violet, red and Derek Zoolander’s favorite, “blue steel.” That said, AnoStyle can only color the anodized aluminum parts; the glass portions of the iPhone 5 cannot be changed out or altered, since they contain trademarks and logos that are not their own.

“AnoStyle is a custom process, and most of it is done by hand,” the company said. “We also check for quality and make sure your device is in absolutely perfect working condition before shipping it back out. This takes time.

Luckily for those iPhone 5 owners who have scratched or even dented their phone, while AnoStyle does not remove those imperfections, the company says, “It is likely that the overall appearance may actually be improved, as the dents and scratches will be uniformly colored like the rest of the aluminum during the AnoStyle process.”

There are two slight downsides to the AnoStyle process: 1) It costs $250 to do (that’s more than the iPhone 5's $199 starting price) and 2) AnoStyle voids the manufacturer’s warranty, as well as any extended warranty you may have purchased. In other words, once your iPhone 5 goes (insert color here), it never goes back.

Though the manufacturer may not repair your newly colored iPhone 5, AnoStyle offers affordable repair options via its partner, the Pod Drop.

“Through this exciting partnership, you not only have the truly unique opportunity to hard-color your iPhone, iPad or iPod, but you can also have the peace of mind from the Pod Drop’s industry standard-setting repair and modification service,” AnoStyle says on its website.

AnoStyle is available in more than 50 countries, and also offers custom etching servics and custom color blends for large orders and companies. To see if AnoStyle’s service is available where you are, check the company’s Order Now page to view a complete list of supported countries.