The launch day of the white iPhone 4 has always been a fun Apple anniversary for me.

This date coincides with a week before I bought my first iPhone, the white iPhone 4, and occurred 308 days after the black iPhone 4 was made available in stores.

Apple summarized the launch of the white iPhone 4 in one word: ‘Finally’

Between the announcement and the launch, Apple released six press releases about the white iPhone 4:

  • 6/7/10: Apple Introduced the iPhone 4
  • 6/16/10: Statement from Apple Regarding iPhone 4 Pre-Orders
  • 6/23/10: Statement from Apple Regarding the White iPhone 4 (June)
  • 7/2/10: Letter from Apple Regarding the iPhone 4
  • 7/23/10: Statement from Apple Regarding the White iPhone 4 (July)
  • 4/27/11: The White iPhone is Coming Tomorrow

The delay of the white iPhone 4 was just one of several major stories related to hardware.

Firstly, there was the Antennagate incident that led Apple to distribute free iPhone Bumper cases.

Then, the launch of the Verizon iPhone added the second carrier in the U.S. supporting the iPhone.

Another thing that always surprises me when revisiting the launch of the white iPhone 4 is the date when the hardware was first announced and released.

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

Launching the iPhone in the summer had become the norm with June or July launches for the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS.

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

Since then, Apple has started introducing new iPhone software updates at WWDC in June and reserved iPhone hardware updates for the fall.

More recently, we have also started to expect spring launches with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17. This year, it is even possible that Apple will delay the standard iPhone 18 and, according to rumors, the iPhone Air 2 until spring 2027.

This fall, the flagship models are expected to be the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the company's rumored foldable screen model, which is expected to be the iPhone Ultra, matching the highest premium price.