Apple said on Wednesday that it would start selling white iPhone 4 version on Thursday. The launch of the white iPhone 4 after a year delay may point to postponement of the release of the next-generation iPhone smartphone from early June to a later date.

The white version of the iPhone 4 has the same technical specifications and capabilities as traditional black one. The company demonstrated white iPhone 4 for the first time in mid-June, 2010. But after launching the black version of the phone last summer, the company announced delay of the white flavour of the iPhone 4. After several months of postponing the release of the white iPhone 4, the firm said it was unsure about its release date, which essentially put the product on hold.

"[Creating the white  iPhone] was challenging. It is not as simple as making something white. There’s a lot more that goes into both the material science of it–how it holds up over time…but also in how it all works with the sensors," said Phil Schiller, a senior vice president of Apple, in an interview with All Things Digital, adding that white material needed some protection and some sensors did not behave well with white cover.

The current launch of the white iPhone 4 should be considered as a product refresh rather than a new driver for major growth. If Apple had planned to announce the next iPhone at its worldwide developers conference (WWDC) in early June, 2011, it would not have launched the white iPhone 4 now due to potentially short life-cycle of the product.

Current rumours expect Apple to update its iPhone lineup in fall, presumably in September. The next-generation smartphone is projected to featured dual-core Apple A5 processor, new screen and some other improvements.

Apple did not comment on any information concerning next-generation iPhone.

Tags: Apple, iPhone