White iPhone 4 not thicker than black version according to Apple SVP and Consumer Reports

Following the release of Apple’s white iPhone 4 last week, preliminary reports suggested that a slightly thicker case was among the differences between the new white model and the older black iPhone 4 model. According to Apple’s SVP of Product Marketing and to Consumer Reports, however, the white model should be the same thickness as the black version. On Sunday, Apple’s Phil Schiller was quoted by Apple enthusiast blog 9to5 Mac as saying “[The white iPhone 4] is not thicker, don’t believe all the junk that you read,” in a private response to an inquiry on Twitter. Then on Monday, Consumer Reports took a set of calipers to both the white and black iPhone 4 models and found them to be the exact same thickness: 0.37 inches. Of course we’ve all seen images of a white iPhone 4 lined up next to a black model and the difference in thickness is quite apparent — we’ve even verified that one of our own white iPhone 4 models is thicker than its black counterpart. According to Schiller and these new measurements taken by Consumer Reports, however, it looks like we can chalk up the differences to Apple’s increasingly poor quality control rather than an amended design.