White iPhone 4 Slightly Thicker Than Black iPhone 4

MacRumors · Apr 28, 2011

Earlier today, a MacRumors reader notified us that the white iPhone 4 is ever so slightly larger than the black iPhone 4. It's a small difference, but enough that the white iPhone 4 wouldn't fit in his Incase slider case:

Just picked up the white iPhone 4 and realized it doesn't fit into my Incase slider case. It appears that Apple has increased the size of the plastic that borders the glass on both sides by about 1mm.

Ryan Cash of Marketcircle noticed the same and noticed it just by picking it up.

A colleague of mine just picked up a 16 GB iPhone 4 in white. I was a bit surprised when I picked it up off his desk (I had my black 32 GB in my other hand at the same time) it immediately felt thicker.

Cash offers some comparison photos between the white and black iPhone 4 showing the slight difference. The small different may be enough to affect tight fitting slider cases as evidenced by our reader's experience.

Article Link: White iPhone 4 Slightly Thicker Than Black iPhone 4

ouimetnick · Apr 28, 2011

Does Apple's website specs show this?

EDIT. Nope. Still 9.3 mm thin

Rogue. · Apr 28, 2011

If I can't get my hand around it, then it's a deal breaker for me....

HiRez · Apr 28, 2011

Sounds like a "who cares?" kind of thing, but that's actually kind of a big deal if it creates case fragmentation. Not good. Hopefully inaccurate.

ten-oak-druid · Apr 28, 2011

They look the same to me in the picture. The white one is tipped slightly so that you see the front face surface a little. I think this makes the difference in appearance.

Stevesbodyguard · Apr 28, 2011

I held one earlier today and it felt .0001 oz. heavier. Perhaps it is just my super human ability to weigh things instantly that told me this....but still....

0008652 · Apr 28, 2011

[delete]

stukick · Apr 28, 2011

Well, us Apple folk have to find something to bitch about don't we?

Jako7286 · Apr 28, 2011

ten-oak-druid said:
They look the same to me in the picture. The white one is tipped slightly so that you see the front face surface a little. I think this makes the difference in appearance.

Ditto. And if they are different, it's definitely NOT 2mm (1mm per side) like the post says. If anything, it's a quarter of a mm each side MAX.

HarryKeogh · Apr 28, 2011

I'm guessing that extra millimeter is what was needed to give the right amount of opaqueness to the white face.

Skika · Apr 28, 2011

So you actually get MORE iPhone in the white model.

intradestings

TwistedPain · Apr 28, 2011

If this is true, I'll be highly disappointed. I wonder how long till case makers respond or if they will even bother?

I'll take photos as soon as my verizon shipment comes in. (Most likely by Monday).

blondepianist · Apr 28, 2011

How on earth could you feel the difference in your hand? I'd like to see a photo with calipers.

coolbreeze · Apr 28, 2011

First, the volume switch issue, then this. I feel sorry for case manufacturers. What a nightmare.

HahaHaha321 · Apr 28, 2011

stukick said:
Well, us Apple folk have to find something to bitch about don't we?

So you don't think it's a problem that a regular iPhone 4 case doesn't fit the white model. Ok.

citi · Apr 28, 2011

HiRez said:
Sounds like a "who cares?" kind of thing, but that's actually kind of a big deal if it creates case fragmentation. Not good. Hopefully inaccurate.

Case Fragmentation? HAAA! The funniest thing I have read all day.

chris975d · Apr 28, 2011

That actually isn't surprising. I've noticed that all of the aftermarket "OEM" white based replacement backplates (any using the white housing for colored glass...yellow, all the whites, green) are always just slightly thicker and can prevent tighter fitting cases from going on the phone. I always just chalked it up to aftermarket parts not being as exact as genuine Apple parts, but now it seems like it's actually a legitimate difference.

Adidas Addict · Apr 28, 2011

Someone get a micrometer or vernier caliper and check this, looks the same size on the photos to me.

citi · Apr 28, 2011

coolbreeze said:
First, the volume switch issue, then this. I feel sorry for case manufacturers. What a nightmare.

Uh no. This is a good thing for manufacturers. This means you have to buy another case. The last thing they want is for you to use the old one.

Noodlefarmer · Apr 28, 2011

Well...

that's a deal breaker then.

Warbrain · Apr 28, 2011

Highly doubt it. Might just be an issue that a few devices are having but not across the board.

ryanbates · Apr 28, 2011

The white is definitely a little bit thicker than the black. I managed to get it in my Incase Slider (snuggly) that I used with my black, but it is next to impossible to get it out. This post explains why...

joeshmo2010 · Apr 28, 2011

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

I thought it was thicker after I just bought... Guess I was right! but it fits in all the cases I have just fine. The white bumper plus the white iPhone looks AMAZING

DotComName · Apr 28, 2011

I'm pretty sure it's just an illusion because of the color difference and the angle of the shot. Makes no sense why Apple would need to or want to do that.

bobbytallant · Apr 28, 2011

I have both the white and black 32gb iPhone 4's next to me now. How anyone can say one feels immediately thicker than the other is beyond me lol.

White iPhone 4 Slightly Thicker Than Black iPhone 4

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