Apple has delayed the release of its white iPhone 4 for more than four months because the white home button doesn't quite match the white on the phone's faceplate. At least that's what British gadget blog, Pocket-lint is reporting.
It's been so long, we'd almost forgotten about the elusive white iPhone. Back in June when Apple introduced the iPhone 4, Steve Jobs showed two handsets, a black one and a white one, and the white one never materialized. First, it was delayed until July.
"White models of Apple's new iPhone 4 have proven more challenging to manufacture than expected," Jobs said, giving no specifics about the manufacturing issues.
Then in late July, the company again pushed back the availability to "later this year."
Fast forward to October, and Pocket-lint staff members spotted someone using a white iPhone at a press event in New York this week. When they asked the man, who wanted to remain anonymous, where he got the white iPhone, he said that Apple's headquarters in Cupertino is "swimming with white iPhones," and that a friend who works there "fixed him up" with the white handset.
He went on to explain that "Apple is having trouble getting its two suppliers in the Far East to match the white used in the manufacturing of the parts."
Sounds plausible. But it's difficult to believe that Apple would allow its employees to dole out unreleased products to friends, especially after the prototype-iPhone-4-left-in-a-bar debacle.
Whether or not you believe the story, one thing is certain, just like Apple promised, you can't get a white iPhone. It's still listed as "currently unavailable for order or in-store pickup" on Apple's site.