Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak suggested white iPhone production delays are related to problems with the combination smartphone and iPod’s LED camera flash. Light from the flash, according to Woz, spills into the camera lens.
Speaking on The Engadget Show, Woz said he purchased Apple’s own unshipped white iPhone case parts from a company that obtained them from the manufacturer.
The MIA white iPhone 4
The problem, he said, is that light from the flash seems to leak into the lens area on the iPhone and blurs captured images. He added that the white iPhone parts have caused proximity sensor issues for him, too.
Apple hasn’t offered an official statement confirming camera problems are behind the white iPhone delays, although the company has said the white model was proving more difficult to manufacture than originally anticipated.
Recent reports say the mythical white iPhone is finally showing up in inventory systems at retailers, hinting that it may finally be released in the coming weeks. Apple isn’t, however, commenting on the device’s status.
14 Comments Leave Your Own
Other companies make white phones. How do they get around the issue? Different material? No flash? I’m just really kind of curious.
remember that the iphone is made of Glass both front and back, and white glass isnt going to block light like black glass will
Maybe they solution is the police car design, black and white
Hy:
But wouldn’t white plastic have the same problem?
Sir Harry:
Actually that isn’t such a bad idea. Paint the glass with one coat of white, visible from outside, and then with a second coat of black on the inside, to block light from the flash.
Thanks, and I had that “flash” of inspiration before having a sip of coffee. Anyway, we are assuming that Woz is correct about the camera problem. If so it is the probably the front facing camera. The camera on the back looks to be same design as the old one and has a chrome bezel that I would think would cause lens glare/flare.
The proximity problem may be more of a problem. Perhaps the light is bouncing off the skin and camera several times giving false distant reading. I am just guessing at that, I don’t actually know what technology is used to measure proximity of the iPhone.
I was thinking white front and black back. For those who want the white iPhone, who cares if the back is black.
Just paint it black, black as night, black as coal
Didn’t Woz purchase the white parts and rebuild his iPhone with them? Is it possible he introduced a problem during the rebuild?
Hmmm, I am noting that the front/screen camera and the proximity sensor are adjacent to each other.
Does anyone know how the proximity sensor measures distance?
No. He is Woz. Even after crashing a plane, he is Woz. Even after the US Festival, he is Woz. You might as well have blamed Chuck Yeager for the crash of his NF-104A. #sacrilege
LOL, literally
Right, because the Woz can do no wrong, and experts have never ever made a mistake.
Likely the issue is light-piping through the glass (sideways) from the so-called “flash” to the lens.
If it as I suspect that it is a front camera issue. Compare the design of it to the back camera which has a metal bezel which would stop light from the case refracting or as you say piping.
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