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White, black iPhones same thickness say Phil Schiller, Consumer Reports

by Mel Martin May 2nd 2011 at 2:00PM

A flurry of reports over the weekend claimed the White iPhone was just a bit thicker than the standard black model.

Not true, said Apple's Phil Schiller in a tweet. Now, Consumer Reports has put the issue to the test. Using high quality digital calipers, the magazine's technicians found that both models were exactly the same size. Also, they determined that the white iPhone would fit in all iPhone 4 cases. Could it be that a different batch of white iPhones made it out of production slightly thicker?

It's hard to understand how the earlier size figures could have been spurious, considering how many people observed the phenomenon. We first heard about the story from a post by Ryan Cash. TiPb then performed some measurements that supported Ryan's naked-eye evaluation. Engadget posted a picture, which certainly supported these claims. Wired.com reported that the new phone was 0.2 millimeters larger, but did not perform any tests. Interestingly, TiPb tested several cases and noted that they all fit, albeit somewhat snugly.

There was speculation that the extra thickness was for UV protection. As of now, "thickness-gate" seems to have ended with a whimper rather than a bang.



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A flurry of reports over the weekend claimed the White iPhone was just a bit thicker than the standard black model. Not true, said...
 

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T-Brass

The white phone is thicker. I can confirm it. Incase slider works on my wife's black iphone 4, but won't fit on my white one.

May 17 2011 at 8:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Justin

I am sick and tired of people and the "-gate" for anything that people are talking about in regards to Apple. Time to retire that.

May 03 2011 at 3:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dood

So some douche photoshopped the white iPhone being thicker as photographic evidence and the whole internet bought the lie and not only that simply regurgitated it without further checking?! Typical.

May 02 2011 at 8:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
the pl4gue

I got a White Verizon iPhone 4 a few days ago and I saw a picture on I THINK it was Engadget where a white and black iPhone 4 were next to each other with a piece of pencil led (from a mechanical pencil) on it. It tipped over from the white to the black iPhone.

I went into Verizon and they insisted they were the same thickness, and they even put a case on my iPhone to prove it. So I don't know what is going on, but my white iPhone 4 is just like the black ones.

Just cooler =P

May 02 2011 at 7:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Almisael

I think the white looking bigger is just because white bleeds more in photos. If they had taken the picture with a powerful flash, it would have been massive. If they had taken it with a different exposure, I bet they would look the same.

May 02 2011 at 7:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Renzatic

I just ordered one of these damn things not five minutes ago. This is my first iPhone, so I don't know what to expect. Well, nothing beyond the fact that I'm fairly sure it'll be better than the horrible, horrible Blackberry Storm I've been stuck with for the past two years.

Thick or thin. Whatever. It better be a magical experience that'll change my life forever. Or else. >:[

May 02 2011 at 3:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Doc Rock

It's because males write this crap and they finally wanted a chance to say white ones were thicker thank black ones. ;)

Actually this just proves why people need to check facts themselves and not read a story and "Re Blog" the same bogus story across the freaking internet.

May 02 2011 at 2:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Doc Rock's comment
Doc Rock

pretend you didn't see the typo :)

May 02 2011 at 2:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
skoochy

Were the people with "thicker" white iPhones comparing a brand new white iPhone vs. a black iPhone that had been compressed in someone's pocket for almost a year? Or a brand new iPhone? I suspect CR would use brand new phones for both when testing.

p.s. the CR "high quality digital calipers" weren't that high quality. Those are Harbor Freight quality ones.

May 02 2011 at 2:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
crisss1205

Are the lines straight or bent?

http://coolrain44.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/optical-illusions.png

May 02 2011 at 2:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
cdeluca

It's because black is very slimming. ;)

May 02 2011 at 2:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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