The United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has decided to rule in favour of Apple in a little known dispute over which company should be allowed to claim that they have the world’s thinnest smartphone.
According to the article on Tech Crunch, the problems arose when Apple continued to class their iPhone 4 model as “The world’s thinnest smartphone” in promotion material despite the new Samsung Galaxy S II claiming exactly the same thing.
The issue was an awkward one for the advertising standards authority because the new Samsung phone was thinner at certain points within their design, but the large hump on the device pushed it over .60mm larger in depth when compared to Apple’s iPhone 4.
Samsung’s svelte new model is indeed thinner at certain points, measuring in at 8.71mm at its thinnest. It’s a considerable enough difference from the iPhone 4′s 9.3mm depth that it would’ve been a clear victory were it not for the Galaxy S II’s 9.91mm thick hump. The ASA ruled that since the iPhone’s thickest point is thinner than the Galaxy S II’s thickest, Apple has the right to continue claiming the title.
Rightly, the ASA ruled that the Apple iPhone’s thickest point was thinner than the Samsung Galaxy S II’s thickest point, thus Apple’s iPhone 4 is still the world’s thinnest smartphone on the market, or in UK eyes at least.
This isn’t the first spat between Apple and Samsung, their well known disagreements over patents and designs are going through courts as we speak, while just last week the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was banned from sale in Germany after a court ruled in Apple’s favor.