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Does white iPhone seems cheap and a bit translucent? Opinions needed

iSayuSay

iSayuSay

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 6, 2011
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I'm for sure getting my iPhone 4s next month, maybe for my Christmas present .. But I'm still not sure about the color. I mean I love white, I have the universal dock, remote, A/V stereo cable etc all in white color. So a white iPhone will somehow complete the whole package, but please answer this:

1. Does the white chassis on the iPhone 4s has a solid color, sometimes I see white iPhone front chassis being a little bit translucent and seems too thin, exposing a black lcd border behind it, On my eyes that would look bad and kinda cheap.

Look at this photo example:

133029-white_iphone_4_be_sold_4.jpeg

Notice that you can see gray shadow around the screen? :( Not the black display border, but I mean the grayish shadow behind the white chassis. Do all white iPhones have this appearance?

Compare to the official picture from :apple:
apple-iphone-4s-white-black.jpg


See?
Just sexy solid white, looks thick and nice. Sure it's been modified and optimized for photography :(

2. How does the white iPhone's color durability, at least how do you notice from the old white iPhone 4? Will it still be as white as new, will it discolored overtime and become slightly brown/yellow? but I don't smoke though

So please share your experience about the white iPhone, black iPhone seems to be a safe option but I do love white, so i'm not too sure, mostly due to cosmetic issue like this.

Thank you for your time and opinion :)
 
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The white iPhone does not seem 'cheap' to me..... It's just another color.... People won't think any different if you have a black or white one.
 
Broph said:
The white iPhone does not seem 'cheap' to me..... It's just another color.... People won't think any different if you have a black or white one.
Click to expand...

I hope you understand I didn't mean the white itself being looks cheap, I love the white iPhone, but rather I doubt about the quality of chassis on white iPhone itself. Pleas consider re-read my original post, thank you :)
 
iSayuSay said:
I hope you understand I didn't mean the white itself being looks cheap, I love the white iPhone, but rather I doubt about the quality of chassis on white iPhone itself. Pleas consider re-read my original post, thank you :)
Click to expand...

It's identical other than the paint color. The white shows more of the reflections from the glass around edges. The black has the same reflections, but they're harder to see unless you're in extremely bright light.
 
iSayuSay said:
I hope you understand I didn't mean the white itself being looks cheap, I love the white iPhone, but rather I doubt about the quality of chassis on white iPhone itself. Pleas consider re-read my original post, thank you :)
Click to expand...

Try reading your own signature. The colour doesnt make a difference.

If you're concerned that the white model may carry a problem then your decision is easy - buy the black model.
 
Let me preface by saying that, if you haven't seen and held a white iPhone in the store without a case, then you should go and do that. When I did, I immediately wanted white. However I'm still leaning towards black because I like how it looks in relation to the screen.

compare-white-iphone-to-black-iphone-when-start.jpg
 
Fuchal said:
It's identical other than the paint color. The white shows more of the reflections from the glass around edges. The black has the same reflections, but they're harder to see unless you're in extremely bright light.
Click to expand...

No sir, I don't worry about the reflection from ambient lights. But I do concerned about does the white iPhone chassis is thick enough? Because I think I could notice the it being a little translucent around the display area.

Does it really noticeable, yeah sure black iPhone may share the same problem, but because it's black it's kinda blend with the display border.
 
I'd say it looks anything but 'cheap' You get shadows in the glass on the white iPhones because the white paint is under the glass.

As others have stated, however, you really need to see one in the flesh before deciding. After seeing my flatmate's white iPhone, I had to get one for myself!
 
William.Mantle said:
Try reading your own signature. The colour doesnt make a difference.

If you're concerned that the white model may carry a problem then your decision is easy - buy the black model.
Click to expand...

LOL Thanks for reminding me .. it's not that easy because I love white but I'm kinda concerned about the cosmetic issue I mentioned earlier.

And yes I actually only held a white iPhone once, it looks great and clean but I think I could notice the white case looks like a bit translucent under a strong ambient light.

Thanks though :D

I don't know .. maybe yes the glass is just as thick and solid as the black one have, or even a bit thicker. But the white paint underneath is not thick enough?
 
I have the white iPhone and, honestly I haven't had that issue at all.

Here're a few pics I literally just took in both direct outside sunlight and indoor conditions. It's there a bit, but I don't have too much of an issue with it at all. Certainly not enough to make me want a black one.

http://imgur.com/a/LGmWZ#0

also: holy **** there's a lot of dust on my screen o_O
 
nmork said:
I have the white iPhone and, honestly I haven't had that issue at all.

Here're a few pics I literally just took in both direct outside sunlight and indoor conditions. It's there a bit, but I don't have too much of an issue with it at all. Certainly not enough to make me want a black one.

http://imgur.com/a/LGmWZ#0

also: holy **** there's a lot of dust on my screen o_O
Click to expand...

Well .. your white iPhone looks great and solid white, just like the way I wanted. I don't know, I held one on the store with the problem I mentioned earlier.

It was an iPhone 4 though, but really makes me wonder if all white iPhone chassis being a bit translucent around display area. Plus I've seen quite a bunch white iPhone photos (from people who tried to sell their iPhone online) exposing that problem, makes me kinda freaked out

Thank you for making this easier for me :)
 
As for the lighting and aesthetics of the phone itself, you have to remember that it's paint under glass, which means its going to look different depending on the light as opposed to other plastic matte or glossy phones.

But I do see where you're coming from. On a normal day in normal light, the phone looks great, as it does right now in my room. However, give me a situation where the light is dim and the phone doesn't look too enticing then; more of an off white pale, depending on the color of light that hits it.

Beautiful phone though; never owned a black one so occasionally I think about that, but just looking at the back of the phone remiss me as to why i got it.
 
I got the iPhone 4s and it is my first iPhone. I hesitated on what color to get but decided to go for white.

My front has the gray shadow around the screen. At times I find it more visible than other, it depends on available light, distance and those sort of things. Since the screen takes up most of the front I guess it somewhat takes away some of the whiteness of the front. The back appears to be more white in that respect.

So yes, my impression of the phone resembles the example photo more than the official picture (for the front).

But, with that said I love it. I am glad I went for white and I am pretty sure I will go for white for my next iPhone as well.
 
8ght said:
I got the iPhone 4s and it is my first iPhone. I hesitated on what color to get but decided to go for white.

My front has the gray shadow around the screen. At times I find it more visible than other, it depends on available light, distance and those sort of things. Since the screen takes up most of the front I guess it somewhat takes away some of the whiteness of the front. The back appears to be more white in that respect.

So yes, my impression of the phone resembles the example photo more than the official picture (for the front).

But, with that said I love it. I am glad I went for white and I am pretty sure I will go for white for my next iPhone as well.
Click to expand...

Well that's exactly what I was talking about. Thank you for mentioning it .. now I know I'm not crazy (yet) :D
So that shadow is actually come and go depend on light situation? Wow I didn't realize that. I thought it was there .. like constantly

Well for sure black iPhone don't have this issue right? Dang but I really want white iPhone so bad :(
 
Jmclark said:
Are you sure that's a white 4S and not a 4? Because the version says 4.3.4...
Click to expand...

Maybe it was a white iPhone 4. But didn't matter, I mentioned earlier that I wasn't concerned about it being 4 or 4s. It was about the appearance issue on white iPhone 4 .. or 4s.

The 14th post is just the exact situation I was talking about, it was on white 4s anyway, right?
 
I have a black 4S, my wife has a white one. The problem with the white one is the glass. There is no good white glass that can replicate the density of white plastic. Thus, the phone feels like transparent glass with a white backing; perhaps it is. And the backing is not totally opaque, thus the faint grey shadow around the bezel.
 
mcdj said:
Thus, the phone feels like transparent glass with a white backing; perhaps it is.
Click to expand...

I thought this was the case for both the white and black iPhones...doesn't it have to be transparent glass since the entirety of the front is glass and you have to be able to see the screen?
 
I have a white iPhone 4s and I think it is absolutely beautiful. I do see the grey that you mention on my phone as well but I think it is on all the white phones. None the less, I am very happy with the white. I have always had black iPhones including a black iPhone 4 so the white 4s is a welcome change.
 
I just picked up my white 4S from the Apple Story and got the transparent black Incase snap case and I think it looks great. And to me so far I can not tell a cheapness to the white plastic being used; seems the same as my black 4 it replaced.
 
I went with black because i'm obsessively organized about my things and all my other iDevices where already black.

Also, i didnt like the black border around the screen on the white iPhone. I didnt like the black proximity sensor on the white iPhone. Its invisible on the black iPhone.
 
I don't think it looks cheap...

however, if you put a big fat rubber case around it, then it does look cheap with either black or white phone :)

Buy what makes you happy...if you feel that it looks cheap, then get the black one... No one is gonna think less of you....

Don't buy a white phone and your mind keep thinking it's cheap looking because you'll be unhappy for at least 2 years until you get a new iphone :)

I have always had a black phone in my life...so it's about time I change the scenario and I'm loving every moment of it.
 
MayBee said:
I don't think it looks cheap...

however, if you put a big fat rubber case around it, then it does look cheap with either black or white phone :)

Buy what makes you happy...if you feel that it looks cheap, then get the black one... No one is gonna think less of you....

Don't buy a white phone and your mind keep thinking it's cheap looking because you'll be unhappy for at least 2 years until you get a new iphone :)

I have always had a black phone in my life...so it's about time I change the scenario and I'm loving every moment of it.
Click to expand...

Oh no no, sir or miss ... really, my concern is not about it being look cheap and scared about people will look at me differently and change my life forever, OMG it's just a phone, right? :rolleyes:

It's more like self satisfaction, I love white, I adore it .. or in this case I really want and try to adore it .. but tell me, you own a white iPhone too? Can you notice the gray shadow around display area I concerned about?

That's the problem which makes me think white iPhone is kinda translucent and so "cheap"
 
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