#FF00AA

Well, the size difference creates a potential consumer issue since cases (at least the good ones) are manufactured against the tight tolerances supplied by Apple. We’ve confirmed ourselves, that an Incase slider that fits a black iPhone 4 just fine has to be forced into place on the new white model. Unfortunately, Apple’s own spec page doesn’t highlight the change in thickness (measured at 9.5mm by TiPb). Instead it still shows a 9.3mm depth with a tiny disclaimer stating, “Actual size and weight vary by configuration and manufacturing process.”

That whole thing is astonishingly un-Apple-like. The white iPhone was always a bad idea (the whole point of the original design is that the device disappears behind the screen’s contents) but, beyond that, I’m amazed that Apple never thought: oh well, maybe we should give up. It was delayed, then it was delayed again, then they had to redesign a bunch of internal stuff, and then it wouldn’t fit existing cases… and be released a couple of months before the iPhone 4 is officially obsolete. The whole affair was a disgrace anyway, why not just cancel it altogether? Is it stubbornness or hubris?