White iPhone 4 Popularity Grows as Release Date Pushed Back

The release date of the White iPhone 4 model has been pushed back again, as Apple continues to face difficulties manufacturing the device. The following statement was issued today regarding the matter:

White models of Apple’s new iPhone® 4 have continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected, and as a result they will not be available until later this year. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.

There is no word on what ‘later this year’ means in terms of a definitive release date, but this is the second production delay that the White iPhone 4 model has encountered. This comes at a time when even black iPhone 4 availability is already strictly constrained due to huge demand for the device.

White iPhone 4 Popularity

Perhaps most interesting about the white iPhone delays is that the inability to get the device seems to be driving up it’s popularity. The following chart is from Google Trends, showing the search volume of ‘White iPhone 4’ vs ‘Black iPhone 4’ – as you can see the device deemed more popular by Apple (the black iPhone) is significantly less searched for than the unavailable white model.

Although it’s unlikely to be Apple’s intention, it would seem the production challenges with the white model are actually driving up the devices desirability. In the past, the Black iPhone has been more popular than the White iPhone, but perhaps that will be changing?