The new iPhone 4 is white, fat

Another day, another Apple “scandal” — at least, according to the tech world. Apparently a 0.2 millimeter difference in thickness between the black iPhone 4 and its new white sibling is enough to spawn tremendous interest across the web.

While the change is small, some customers that switched to the new phone are finding that their rigid phone cases won’t fit because of the size differential.

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That means these customers will have to pick up new cases — though Apple’s flexible “bumper” cases will still work for the white iPhone 4. Rigid case manufacturers will also have to release separate cases for the white iPhone.

That could also pose a few concerns for the stability of the glass on the white iPhone 4 — especially for users that will try to use rigid cases designed for the black iPhone 4. Rigid cases that aren’t designed by Apple run the risk of scratching and fracturing the glass on the back on the iPhone 4. That’s because particulates can get stuck between the case and the black iPhone 4.

I personally use a rigid case because I drop my black iPhone 4 on a regular basis. Thankfully those cases are structurally sound and protect the phone. Without that kind of structural security — because the cases won’t fit snugly with the new phone — they are practically useless and might even do more harm than good.

So why is the white iPhone 4 thicker than its predecessor? Here are a few crackpot theories both the Internet — and VentureBeat — have come up with to find out why the white iPhone is that much fatter than its earlier counterpart.

1. Apple has introduced a fix for the iPhone 4’s antennae woes. The iPhone 4 has a hardware flaw that causes the phone to lose reception when held a certain way. At face value, it doesn’t look like the phone carries any kind of design differences.

2. The white paint for the new iPhone 4 required a different game plan. The white iPhone’s case did not insulate the its camera’s flash and leaked light when taking photos, according to reports. White iPhone 4 parts also caused some issues with the phone’s proximity sensor, which disables the screen when talking on the phone so owners don’t accidentally hang up, according to Apple’s Steve Wozniak.

3. The white iPhone needed additional protection from external light sources. Any light leaking into the phone could disrupt the iPhone 4’s screen and make the image less clear, which would be a sore point for Apple because it touts its “retina display” as one of the best smartphone displays in the business.

4. Apple is just trolling tech geeks everywhere to try to generate some additional publicity for the white iPhone 4 — because even a 0.2 millimeter difference is enough to generate news buzz when it comes to an Apple product.

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