iPhone Hardware

Apple has made it official, sales of the white iPhone 4 have been postponed until spring 2011. Spring 2011? Why would anyone buy a white iPhone 4 right before the iPhone 5 is launched? Speculation is rampant that Apple might just cancel the white model. In a first since June, the photo and ordering information for the white iPhone 4 has been removed from the Apple online store.

Reports about why the delay has taken so long have varied but most involve some type of manufacturing issue. Problems cited range from CEO Steve Jobs complaining about the home button not matching the white-colored glass to technical difficulties with light leakage into the camera sensor. Whatever the case, Apple's suppliers have been struggling to come up with engineering procedures for the white glass.

Sources at Apple have told the Boy Genius Report that a revised iPhone 4 model is currently in the final phases of field testing before release. This model revision is known as "iPhone3,2" and may be launched ahead of Apple's typical summer iPhone refresh cycle. Speculation is rampant over exactly what revisions are coming to the iPhone 4.

The leading contender is a CDMA-compatible version of the iPhone 4, which could be offered by either Sprint or Verizon Wireless in the US. Although this would make sense given the impending end of AT&T exclusivity, BGR also reports that the new iPhone 4 retains a SIM card slot. SIM cards are used on GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile.

Apple as usual has made a business decision that could lead to exciting new features on the next generation iPhone and beyond. The company has acquired Swedish company Polar Rose, known for its mobile face recognition technology FaceLib among other similar products.

With full face detection and tracking of faces in video, the solutions Polar Rose delivers could change how you interact with your iPhone. Now that the iPhone 4 has a front-facing camera, passcode lock could end up going the way of the dinosaurs.

Every time a new Apple patent goes public it sets off waves of speculation about the next iPhone. The latest round of patents is no different, and some features are already expected to debut on the iPhone 5 next summer. Two of these patents would make for some interesting changes in the next iPhone and beyond.

One patent shows a redirecting flash. Apple just added an LED flash to the iPhone 4 and the company is already looking to improve this feature. A redirecting flash would be capable of aiming and focusing light to specific areas in a photograph to help properly expose the scene.

Evidence has surfaced that retailers are getting ready for Apple's white iPhone 4 launch. It's likely Apple would like to see the white model on shelves before the holiday shopping season. Screenshots of an internal inventory system at Canadian carrier Rogers Wireless have been leaked showing two white iPhone 4 models.

Like the black iPhone 4, white iPhones will be available in two storage capacities, 16GB and 32GB. Apparently Rogers has historically only added product information to the system if launch is imminent. Not to be outdone, US retailers are also prepping for the white iPhone 4 arrival.