Scandal! White iPhone 4 Is 0.2 Millimeters Thicker

The white iPhone 4 is huge.

That sentence took on literal meaning today as reports poured in from all over the world that the long-awaited variant of the popular smartphone, which went on sale yesterday, is a full two-tenths of a millimeter thicker than the black model.

Why the white iPhone would be thicker than the other model is a mystery, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Senior Vice President Phil Schiller shed some light on the much-delayed albino iPhone in an interview with All Things D. The pair said that coloring the casing white actually ended up introducing many issues with the sensors and the device's longevity, which was the cause of the delay.

"It's not as simple as making something white," Schiller said. "There's a lot more that goes into both the material science of it�how it holds up over time� but also in how it all works with the sensors."

It appears that Apple resolved those issues with some design modifiations, but a side effect may be the slightly increased thickness. Apple's spec page for the iPhone makes no mention of any variance in the dimensions of the phone, however, listing both as having 9.3 millimeter depth. The company didn't respond to a request for comment.

Will the extra girth create any issues? Apart from possibly increasing the weight by about as much as a corn flake, it's possible some cases made for the black iPhone 4 won't properly fit the white one. While a flexible case, such as Apple's bumper, will probably fit either model, something more rigid�like this laser-etched mirror shell from LuxMobile�might not toggle from black to white so easily.

The white iPhone 4 was promised when the product was first unveiled almost a year ago. After numerous delays, it went on sale April 28. Customers wanting some cream with their Apple coffee can get their fix at Apple's Web site, Apple retail stores, AT&T and Verizon stores, as well as retailers like Target and Best Buy. Ship times for online orders are longer than usual, though, at three to five days. (The black model ships in 24 hours.)

There are so far no reports of any users using the increased thickness as an excuse to make a crude joke about how their phone is "bigger" than others'. Or rather, never mind.

PCmag