Why the iPhone 5 will be late.
By now, you’ve probably heard the rumors that the iPhone 5 likely wont ship until September 2011, or even later. Many thought this would be simply to get the iPhone launches more inline with holiday schedule, theoretically boosting sales. I’d like to give an alternate theory.
With yesterday’s launch of the long awaited white iPhone 4, Apple has actually launched and shipped THREE separate phones since June 2010.
The first of course being the iPhone 4 that was plagued by Antennagate (the issue of loss of signal by bridging the metal antenna on the exterior of the device,) and nearly by Glassgate (the issue of the back glass plate shattering inside some protective cases.)
The second was the launch of the iPhone 4 on Verizon in February of this year. The transition to Verizon’s CDMA network required many internal changes and adaptations, including the most obvious change to the external antenna structure (although still plagued by the issues of AntennaGate.)
The third is of course the release of the white iPhone 4, which was mocked heavily for its delayed launch. As Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President at Apple, told All Things Digital, “The white casing reacted with various internal components, and needed some extra UV protection from the sun,” requiring apple to almost go back to the drawing board in search of a design that allowed for a white coat of paint, and the necessary UV protection to go hand in hand.
The answer was a slight increase in thickness allowing for an internal redesign. 
