Why Was The White iPhone Delayed? It Really Did Get Discolored

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The White iPhone was released almost 10 months after it was announced by Steve Jobs alongside the black iPhone 4. It was delayed, and delayed and even reported canceled more than once. The official line from Apple was that the white device was too quick to discolor, and they were actually telling the truth.

Nick Bilton over at the New York Times’ Bits blog compared a white iPhone 4 purchased recently, to an early white iPhone 4. According to Bilton, the white iPhone is from a guy who has connections to the Foxconn factories in the Far East where the iPhones are manufactured, and he allegedly paid $1,000 for the device.

The difference is startling. The early white iPhone is quite frankly, grungy and discolored. “Gross” is another term that comes to mind. It’s hard to tell if the discoloring is just dirt from being handled or some sort of discoloration from the sun. Either way, it isn’t really up to Apple’s standards.

Rumors also pointed to something being wrong with the proximity sensor on the White iPhone – as we reported a few days ago, the ‘white one’ has a different proximity sensor than the black one. I’m sure Apple goes through the trial-and-error process with every gadget they come out with, but considering it was announced so early, the tech world has been interested in what had gone wrong with the white iPhone.

Don’t forget the stories about the White iPhone being thicker. Apple and Consumer Reports say it isn’t thicker, but several blogs and bloggers (including this one) think it obviously is a tiny bit thicker. Does it matter, not really, as all cases are still said to fit. But, we have post counts to fill and what else are we going to write about?

(Image Credit: Nick Bilton/NY Times)