Do the Black And White iPhone Models Include Different Cameras?

[Wiley John Wright]

The white iPhone 4 has been something a unicorn for Apple, but after months of delays it finally hit store shelves in April. Apple has never released the exact nature of the problem that caused the delay, but that hasn’t stopped anyone from speculating as to what cause may have actually been. The most credible reason for the delay, however, has to do with the iPhone 4’s white glass case design. Apparently, it allowed just enough light to shine into the camera’s sensor to overexpose photos. Now that the white iPhone 4 is finally available for testing, some have begun to wonder if Apple simply replaced the camera altogether.

Early teardowns of the white iPhone 4 indicate that the camera component is different than the one used in the black iPhone 4 model. The camera appears to be located in a more recessed position to reduce the distance between the camera sensor and the back of the glass case. This is thought to help reduce light leakage and produce better quality images.

Recently, PCworld ran both iPhone 4 models though a battery of photographic tests to see if there is in fact any difference between the two models. PCworld reports, “Based on PCworld Labs’ standardized image- and video-quality testing, the different flavors of iPhone 4 produce slightly different flavors of photos and video.”

The most dramatic differences in image quality come when using the flash to take portraits. The skin tones are noticeably different when taken with different iPhone 4 models. Shooting videos with the white iPhone 4 also produced sharper details and had better contrast with brighter colors, especially in low-light settings.

These differences alone do not necessarily point to different camera components, however. Light from the flash may simply be reflecting off of the white case causing differences in image quality between models. At this point, unless Apple releases exact specifications of the camera components used in the manufacturing process of the white and black iPhone 4, we may never know for sure whether or not the smartphones actually do include different cameras.

Regardless of which iPhone 4 you use, however, both models will produce best-in-class image results. Recently, the iPhone 4 took the top spot on Flickr as the most popular camera used to upload pictures with as well. With so many image-editing apps available today, most image quality issues can be easily corrected on the iPhone itself. At the end of the day, the best camera in the world is the one in your hand.

To compare image quality results, click on the source link for more details.

Source: Macworld

[ismoothproject]

Coooool. Nice post!

[Striknine]

I wonder if iFixit has a tear down yet to confirm a different camera.

[iSteed]

yeah... interesting info

[TristianLyons1022]

What i would like to know is if iFixit could swap a "white" camera with a "black" one and see if there is a noticeable difference. That would surely give us an indication as to what's up.

[TheGrandFinale2001]

Yes, very nice post. I was wondering if there were any differences.

[one1]

Nope. The camera you claim came from a white I4 was present in a remanufactured black I4 I worked on today meaning ALL iPhones got the updated camera at some point.