MacRumors: White iPhone 4 to Finally Arrive By End of April [Updated]

Wednesday April 13, 2011 08:21 PM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Arnold Kim

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple will finally deliver the white iPhone 4 by the end of April after a 10 month wait. The new version will be available from AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless by the end of April, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren't public. The release was stalled as Apple resolved manufacturing challenges, including paint that peeled under heat, one person said.

Bloomberg's sources reveal that the issue that had caused the delay involved the white paint peeling under heat. After the initial delays, Apple had said the white iPhone would ship by Spring 2011. The new model may help boost sales of the iPhone 4 which has been on the market since June of 2010. Bloomberg also confirms previous reports that Apple is not planning on introducing a new iPhone at WWDC, possibly waiting until later this year to introduce the iPhone 5.

Update: Reuters offers a similar update, claiming that the Apple has begun production on a white iPhone that will be released "within a month". Suppliers to Apple Inc have begun production of white iPhones after a delay of almost 10 months, pointing to a launch date of within a month, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Update 2: According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has confirmed that the white iPhone delays are nearly over and reiterates its previous position that the device will be launched this spring. Apple Inc. said Thursday that delays keeping the white iPhone from store shelves are nearly ended and that the device is on track for spring release, reiterating the projection that the company made in October.

Apple declined to comment about which carrier would initially carry the white iPhone 4.

White iPhone? Test version of iOS? Tinhte claims both in video

Filed under: iPhone

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (RSS feed) on Apr 19th 2011 at 10:45AM

Here's a double whammy for you. Vietnamese site Tinhte (who have a decent record of leaks) has put out a video of what they claim is a) a white iPhone from Apple which is b) running some "test version" of iOS. As you can see in the video on the next page, multitasking in this mystery version presents you with a page full of screens for running applications. They go all jiggly and present the standard close button when long-pressed, and there's a nifty Search iPhone up top, but seems to be missing from the usual swipe to search function normally used to invoke Spotlight.

Is this real? Well, as Federico Viticci from MacStories points out, the Calculator app uses an old icon, as does the Voice Memo app. But iPhone Dev Team hacker Chronic tweets, there's nothing from Cydia like this. In fact, Chronic states unequivocally that this is, in fact, simply build 8A216 of iOS 4. The Gold Master version of iOS 4 was 8A293. Nothing to get excited about today it seems, although the way multitasking works here is kinda neat. Perhaps it will live again in iOS 5. For now, we're not going to say this is indicative of anything but a white iPhone running an old version of iOS 4.

Update: 9to5 Mac posted another video which supports the notion this iPhone is a prototype with 64 GB of memory. Unfortunately they are enthused over what they perceive as iOS 5 features, including such goodies as Facebook integration... We are siding with Chronic on this one and say this is build 8A216.

[via Engadget]

Forget the white iPhone 4, white iPhone 5 rumors begin!

 It's the perfect rumor: the officially delayed and frequently tattled white iPhone 4 has reemerged as the white iPhone 5 riding a horned stallion through virgin rumor fields. According to the Economic Daily News, the previously unheard of white iPhone 5 will feature a touch panel supplied exclusively by Wintek. If true, then the white iPhone 4, officially scheduled for a spring 2011 launch, should be available just prior to the launch of the next generation white iPhone 5, anticipated for a summer launch in keeping with Apple's typical launch cycle. Not exactly ideal, but hey, it's only the first of many related rumors to come.

Wintek to supply touchscreen panels for white iPhone 5

A new rumor out of China's Economic Daily News suggests Apple has selected Wintek as the sole touchscreen supplier for the white iPhone 5. This contract would push Wintek ahead of TPK Touch solutions, making it the #1 touch panel supplier globally. Of interest to Apple fans, the Asian report adds that Apple is focusing on white models for the rumored iPhone 5.

This reported interest in a white iPhone 5 may ruffle the feathers of some iPhone 4 fans who have waited since June 2010 to get their hands on this elusive white model. While reports of the white iPhone 4 come and go, the handset has not been officially released by Apple. Prevailing rumors suggest the long delay of this highly desirable model stems from a problem with the opacity and thickness of the white coloring.

If true, this Asian report is good news for white iPhone fans. A renewed focus on the white model may indicate that Apple has worked out its manufacturing kinks, and the white handset may finally emerge -- hopefully in the spring as the iPhone 4 and later this year as the iPhone 5.