Steve Jobs and Phil Schiller on White iPhone 4 Delays

142516 white iphone 4 views final

In a companion piece to the earlier article highlighting Apple CEO Steve Jobs' interview regarding location tracking issues, All Things Digital turns the spotlight to the white iPhone 4, sharing comments from Jobs and Apple marketing boss Phil Schiller regarding the difficulties in bringing the product to market.

"It was challenging," Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller said during a joint interview with CEO Steve Jobs on Wednesday. "It's not as simple as making something white. There's a lot more that goes into both the material science of it - how it holds up over time... but also in how it all works with the sensors."

Schiller noted that the company thought it had all of the issues in hand when it introduced the iPhone 4 last year, but it obviously took a lot more work than expected to obtain the quality finished product the company demanded.

Jobs reported that the company's experience with the white iPhone 4 has benefited the company in a number of ways, most obviously bringing some of the lessons learned during the development process to other product lines such as the iPad, where the second-generation device shipped in both black and white from day one.

The white iPhone 4 finally goes on sale tomorrow, although some retail outlets around the world have been letting units out to customers early.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...

Top Rated Comments

eastercat Avatar
182 months ago
That's white plastic. This is glass. In case you didn't know, you're comparing two different materials. :rolleyes:
I don't get it... They made white iMacs and Macbooks for years. The top of my Mac Mini is also white. So was the original iPod.

Now for some reason it's a huge challenge for them to make something white? :confused:
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aduntu Avatar
182 months ago
I wonder if you have to hold the White iPhone differently

Come up with some new (original) material, seriously.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lukefinch Avatar
182 months ago
I don't get it... They made white iMacs and Macbooks for years. The top of my Mac Mini is also white. So was the original iPod.

Now for some reason it's a huge challenge for them to make something white? :confused:


"It's not as simple as making something white"

Steve.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
toddybody Avatar
182 months ago
I don't get it... They made white iMacs and Macbooks for years. The top of my Mac Mini is also white. So was the original iPod.

Now for some reason it's a huge challenge for them to make something white? :confused:

Apparently, the sensors were affected by the white body. This makes sense as it reflects/absorbs light differently than black.
I get your sentiments though...IMO, they shouldnt have showed off the white models until they were ready to deliver.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ABernardoJr Avatar
182 months ago
Not as simple as making something white... not like it was for ipod 1g/2g/3g/4g/video, iphone 3g/3gs, ibook/macbook, imac g4/g5/intel and lets not forget the original apple remote...

yeah there's legit reasons for the delay, just really funny that apple has a hard time releasing a white product.

:confused: I don't see why that's funny... The products you listed don't even use sensors that the iPhone uses so maybe that's why it's not as simple as making something white. Did you even read the article?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tinman0 Avatar
182 months ago
They could have said this 6 months ago. Really.

They did.

But you guys were too busy coming up with conspiracy theories to listen.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)