The white iPhone 4 has been delayed because it can’t take good pictures, a source with connections at Apple tells me.
The white case leaks light back in — especially when the flash is used to take pictures.
On Tuesday, Apple said the white iPhone has been delayed until next spring.
This is the third time the white iPhone has been pushed back: first to July, then the end of the year and now to next spring.
Once again, Apple didn’t explain the delay. In the past, the company has said the white iPhone was “more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected.”
Rumors have blamed light leaking from the case or a color-mismatched Home button.
The delay is related to light leakage, as previously rumored. But it isn’t light leaking out from the iPhone, it’s light leaking back in.
The white iPhone 4 can’t take accurate photographs. The handset’s semi-translucent glass case leaks light in, ruining pictures taken with the internal camera, especially when the built-in flash is used.
“You don’t get accurate pictures on the white iPhone because of the color of the glass back. It washes out the pictures,” said a source with connections to Apple who asked to remain anonymous.
The source said Apple has been struggling to isolate the camera sensor. The problem may demand a complete redesign, they said, hence the string of delays.
The source said the problem only surfaced at the last minute at a secret testing facility Apple has set up for case manufacturers.
To qualify for Apple’s “Made for iPhone” program, case makers must prove that their cases don’t interfere with the iPhone’s ability to take photographs. Apple has strict rules for the width of the hole for the camera and flash.
It was only during testing of some early cases that the problem was found.
Apple has had no problem selling the black iPhone 4. Q4 sales rocketed 91 percent to 14.1 million handsets sold in 89 countries, earning Apple $8.6 billion.
The news debunks rumors that the white handset’s release is imminent.
Apple couldn’t be reached for comment.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
24 responses to “The Real Reason White iPhone 4 Is Delayed (Hint: The Camera)”
Thank you For good article but White iPhone 4 will be hidden in weeks
http://www.technews5.com/2011/…
The white iPhone 4 has become the mythical beast in Apple’s product line up. First expected to launch alongside the standard black iPhone 4 last year,
They actually having a hard time trying to fix the antenna problem. The iPhone 4 came out too buggy just had one replace after two weeks of purchase. Happy with a black one now :)
Excellent! Great article, I already saved it to my
favourite,
Are there still problems with the Verizon White I phone as of today ( May 22, 2010 ) ? Should I get the black one? Thank you