15 years ago, Apple ‘finally’ released the white iPhone 4 after a 300+ day delay

Zac Hall | Apr 28 2026 - 6:13 am PT

The white iPhone 4 release day is always a fun Apple anniversary for me to think about.

It comes one week before I bought my first iPhone (the iPhone 4 in white, of course) and 308 days after the black iPhone 4 arrived in stores.

Apple summed up the white iPhone 4 launch in one word: ‘Finally’

Between the announcement and release, Apple spent six press releases covering the white iPhone 4:

6/7/10: Apple Presents iPhone 4
6/16/10: Statement by Apple on iPhone 4 Pre-Orders
6/23/10: Statement by Apple on White iPhone 4 (June)
7/2/10: Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4
7/23/10: Statement by Apple on White iPhone 4 (July)
4/27/11: White iPhone Arrives Tomorrow

The white iPhone 4 delay only made for one of a few major storylines associated with the hardware.

First, Antennagate that resulted in Apple giving away free iPhone Bumper cases.

Then there was the Verizon iPhone launch, adding a second carrier in the U.S. that supported the iPhone.

Something else that always surprises me when revisiting the iPhone 4 launch is when the hardware was originally announced and released.

Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 at WWDC 2010, and the black version was in stores by the end of June.

Summer iPhone releases were the norm with June or July launches for the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS.

Top comment by Pete

Liked by 10 people

The iPhone 4 was legendary. Stolen in a bar and leaked by Gizmodo. Steve Jobs calling them saying he wants the phone back. The very first device with the super sharp Retina display. The first iPhone with the LED flash. Now the phones are boring. Same design since the iPhone 12, but mimics the iPhone 4 design, but nothing really innovative anymore. Now there are too many leaks and nothing to be excited about.

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iPhone launches later shifted to the fall with the iPhone 4S in October 2011.

Since then, Apple has previewed new iPhone software updates at WWDC in June, saving iPhone hardware updates for fall.

More recently, we’ve come to expect spring releases as well with the iPhone 16e and iPhone 17e. This year, Apple even might hold back the standard iPhone 18 and rumor iPhone Air 2 until spring 2027/

This fall, flagships are expected to include iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Ultra, the company’s rumored folding display model with the most premium price to match.