How Apple narrowly avoided another "antennagate" with white iPhone 4 camera

October 28, 2010 9:02 AM
Devindra Hardawar
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MobileBeat 2013
July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA
Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Apple may be holding back its promised white iPhone 4 in order to avoid a scandal surrounding the phone’s camera, according to the Apple fan site Cult of Mac.

An Apple source tells the site that the white case leaks in light, which produces poor quality pictures. The problem is apparently more pronounced when the iPhone’s flash is used. Since the back of the white iPhone is semi-translucent, pictures inevitably get washed out.

The issue was apparently found at the last minute prior to shipping — luckily for Apple, as it would have been a far worse situation than the black iPhone’s antennagate scandal, where the company was forced to issue users free bumper cases for their iPhone 4′s to circumvent problems with the antenna.

Even though Apple announced the iPhone 4 would be available in a white version when it launched in June, the company has yet to deliver on that promise. Most recently, the company announced that it would be delaying the white iPhone 4 until spring 2011 — the third such delay for the device.

Apple is working to isolate the camera sensor to resolve the issue, the source says. It may end up requiring a complete redesign — so the spring 2011 push may lead to Apple foregoing a white iPhone 4 altogether, and instead offering a white case with the next iPhone.

There have been a few possible theories on the delay, including reports of color issues with the home button, but nothing yet has seemed as plausible as this camera issue. Apple isn’t a company known for its hardware flaws, so it must have been something major and unexpected that caused the white iPhone 4′s delay.

It’s also yet another reason we can expect a dramatic shift away from the iPhone 4′s design with the next version of the device.

  • http://myuserid.myopenid.com/ Donna

    All Apple should have done was to make the back have a white *OUTSIDE*, and black *INSIDE*. It would block just as much light as an “all black” iPhone. (And would also allow the back-sides to be used on EITHER phone… just by flipping them over.)

  • xiaoa

    Hearing this news, I was a little disappointed! I dare to buy a black one as the antenna issue and I have waited the white one for a long time. The new issue as camera issue occurs that will lead to delayed released date. Maybe I don't wait any more. It is timt to make another choice.

  • http://www.bigjobsboard.com Steve Jobs

    What is actually with the color? It seems all iPhones regardless of color do have some problems with it. But I doubt it, it’s the main reason for its delay, it could have been a marketing ploy since Apple had just launched two of its products, the Apple TV and the Mac Air.

  • http://eric-scoles.myopenid.com/ eric

    There's a typo in your story. It reads “Apple isn’t a company known for its hardware flaws…” Should read “Apple is a company known for its hardware flaws…”(Unless you really meant “isn't.” But that wouldn't square with my experience or memory, from the early '80s through the present.) [reminders: protective film left in place on may macbook pros; overheating issues on flat-screen iMacs; reception issues on several different iPhone models; idiosyncratic design glitches on different mac models for as long as I can remember (though this has gotten better in the past 5 or 6 years); hard drives failing at a rate of about 20% on some mid-90s models (“but everything is wonderful now”); and that's not even to get into design issues like the hockey-puck and dove bar mice.)

  • http://twitter.com/freecontractmob adamcaitlin

    iphone 4 is really ultimate phone,i think these comments written before releasing of iphone 4.iphone 4 equipped with high-resolution screen,better email handling, battery life is gud,very fast.

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