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Otterbox Case for i4 vs i4S

Irock619

Irock619

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 16, 2011
1,794
293
San Francisco, CA
I guess the proximity sensor for the iPhone 4S is different than the i4. I talked to the Otterbox manufacture and they said that a i4 case blocks the sensor to the i4S. You can still use the case but the screen on your phone will not go off when close to your face. She did say however the new case for i4S will work with an old i4 with no problems.

Just some useless knowledge for anybody thinking of using their old Otterbox case for the i4S. Time to spend $50 for the new i4S case. It's worth it though IMO.
 
I think they are lying just to sell the premium price of $50, when they no amazon isselling iPhone 4 otterbox cases for 15 bucks.. I ordered a iPhone defender case from amazon and will inform you if there is any compatibility issues with the 4s. Which I doubt
 
marine0816 said:
I think they are lying just to sell the premium price of $50, when they no amazon isselling iPhone 4 otterbox cases for 15 bucks.. I ordered a iPhone defender case from amazon and will inform you if there is any compatibility issues with the 4s. Which I doubt
Click to expand...

Well I'm not sure if they are lying because on the otter box website both i4 and i4S cases are the same price.
 
I ordered an iPhone 4 Otterbox Commuter case on Amazon yesterday (for $20 compared to $35 from Otterbox itself) and the only difference that I can see is the size of the camera hole. However, the Otterbox website says that the 4 case isn't compatible with the 4S phone. I'm gonna see for myself and try the case on the phone. If it's really enough to not turn off that sensor or whatever, or it doesn't fit, I can return it to Amazon and eat an extra $15 for a 4S case. Until proven otherwise though, I'm gonna give it a try.
 
00trayn said:
I ordered an iPhone 4 Otterbox Commuter case on Amazon yesterday (for $20 compared to $35 from Otterbox itself) and the only difference that I can see is the size of the camera hole. However, the Otterbox website says that the 4 case isn't compatible with the 4S phone. I'm gonna see for myself and try the case on the phone. If it's really enough to not turn off that sensor or whatever, or it doesn't fit, I can return it to Amazon and eat an extra $15 for a 4S case. Until proven otherwise though, I'm gonna give it a try.
Click to expand...

The commuter case should be fine because it doesn't cover the proximity sensor like the defender case does.
 
Irock619 said:
The commuter case should be fine because it doesn't cover the proximity sensor like the defender case does.
Click to expand...

Nice! That's good to know! Hopefully the case I ordered will work well then. And I can take the $15 I'm saving and buy some apps or something, haha
 
I was having a similar concern, my dad is getting a 4S and I'm gonna let him use my defender for my 4, since I dont use it on a daily basis, but when I looked at the 4S defenders, the camera cutout was a lot bigger.

Didn't know if that was just Otterbox trying to sell more cases or if the camera is actually a different size/in a diff spot than the 4.

They pulled this $#%& with the mute switch for AT&T/Verizon iPhones so it wouldn't surprise me if it was shifted 2mm to the left or something
 
Theres no way Apple gave Otterbox the specifications on the 4S prior to October 4th, knowing Apples's secrecy of their products. Otterbox were betting on the same design as they were monitoring on the same rumors we were monitoring. Remember it took Otterbox well over a month after the iPad 2s launch to produce a case. Now they are claiming that a case for the 4s will be ready at launch.
 
i have outterbox for 3gs, which i love since it covers the the headphone jack and usb connection on the bottom, do these iphone 4s cases cover the same way ?
 
iSIILENT said:
i have outterbox for 3gs, which i love since it covers the the headphone jack and usb connection on the bottom, do these iphone 4s cases cover the same way ?
Click to expand...

Yes, according to the rep at otter box, the only difference is with the defender series and how it covers the proximity sensor on the new iPhone.
 
I hope not. I ordered a Defender from Amazon on Tuesday after the 4S was announced.
 
Irock619 said:
it covers the proximity sensor on the new iPhone.
Click to expand...

iPhone 4
iphone4_techspecs_white.jpg


iPhone 4 S⃣
techspecs_white.jpg


Its the same phone externally, so all iPhone 4 cases should work just fine on the iPhone 4S (just like iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS cases are the same).

iPhone 4 S⃣
http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

iPhone 4
http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-4/specs.html
 
saving107 said:
Its the same phone externally, so all iPhone 4 cases should work just fine on the iPhone 4S (just like iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS cases are the same).

iPhone 4 S⃣
http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

iPhone 4
http://www.apple.com/iphone/iphone-4/specs.html
Click to expand...

There is a small difference that may create an issue for some cases. The mute switch on the 4S has been moved down very slightly (like the Verizon iPhone 4 was). If the case has a close fit in the mute switch area it might be a problem. If you look at the photos in your two links you can see the 4S mute switch is a little lower.
 
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