[avian]

Sinclair ZX Spectrum had a palette of 15 colors. 7 base colors, plus 7 "bright" versions, plus black (bright black was the same as normal black).

[anjc]

Ah yeah but they're essentially the same colours, whereas the C64 had 16 unique ones. If it had only used 4 bits for colour then I don't think it would've maintained its earthy palate because it wouldn't have been useful enough.