Photo Credit: Engadget.com

Earlier this week I wrote about the newly released White iPhone 4.  I mentioned that with the White iPhone 5 on the way, you are best waiting until the Fall for the device on 4G than going out to buy it now.  Now I have a new reason why you’d better wait: the White iPhone 4 is thicker than the black version. While it may not seem like a very big deal, the discrepancy actually creates a bit of an issue: if I buy this case, will it fit?  The image above illustrates the minute difference. 

Cases are normally designed using the manufacturer’s size specifications.  When Apple released the iPhone 4 in White, they forgot to mention a change in thickness, adding only the following disclaimer: “Actual size and weight vary by configuration and manufacturing process.”

Apple’s SVP Phil Schiller explained that the new iPhone 4 needed extra UV protection because of its white color, which led to a slight increase in thickness.  So now we have the iPhone 4 in four different sizes, with slight differences in button placement:

1. iPhone 4 – Black – AT&T  |  2.  iPhone 4 – Black – Verizon

3. iPhone 4 – White – AT&T  |  4.  iPhone 4 – White – Verizon

A bit of food for thought when buying a case (but in my opinion, yet another reason to wait until the iPhone 5 arrives this Fall).