iPhone Restoration's All About iPhone: Which iPhone model do I have?

Differentiating Between iPhone Generations

Each generation of iPhone looks quite similar, but there are a few key physical differences you can check to easily distinguish one generation from another.

iPhone
September 2012	6th Generation: iPhone 5 The iPhone 4S is available in black & slate or white & silver, with three available capacities (16, 32, or 64GB). The easiest way to differentiate this model of iPhone is its screen; the iphone 5 is the first model to have a taller (1136x640) display, which has room for five rows of icons on the homescreen (not including the bottom bar), rather than the four that appear on all previous models. The iPhone 5 is also the first iPhone since the original to have two different materials, glass and aluminum, on the back. Because of its unique form factor, the iPhone 5 is the most easily model to differentiate visually.
October 2011	5th Generation: iPhone 4S The iPhone 4S was available in black or white, with three available capacities (16, 32, or 64GB). Although the iPhone 4S looks very similar to the iPhone 4, with the same slim glass and aluminum casing, Retina Display, and FaceTime camera, Apple updated many of the internal components. The iPhone 4S features a faster processor, better camera, Siri voice assistant, and an improved dual cellular antenna. There are no longer separate models for AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.The easiest way to tell the difference between the iPhone 4S, Verizon iPhone 4, and the GSM (AT&T) iPhone 4 is by looking for a SIM tray and where the breaks in the aluminum band appear. See the images below for these differences.
June 2010	4th Generation: iPhone 4 The iPhone 4 was available in black or white, with two available capacities (16 or 32GB). Currently, the iPhone 4 is available with 8GB capacity in either black or white. The iPhone 4 remains available with either GSM (AT&T) or CDMA (Verizon & Sprint) cellular technology. iPhone 4 included a slimmer, redesigned case with square edges and a glass back. On the back is a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash to the right of the lens. A front-facing camera allows you to video chat using FaceTime. The 3.5" widescreen Retina display is so high-resolution that the human eye is unable to distinguish the individual pixels (or in other words, it looks sharp.)
June 2009	3rd Generation: iPhone 3GS The iPhone 3GS was available in white or black plastic and two capacities (16 or 32GB). Currently, the iPhone 3GS is only available in 8GB capacity in black. The iPhone 3G S introduced a number of features not available in prior generations (even with a software upgrade), namely, video recording, a digital compass, voice control, and Nike + iPod integration. Physically, the iPhone 3G S looks nearly identical to the iPhone 3G. The only notable difference is that the text printed on the back of the iPhone 3G S matches the reflective silver color of the Apple logo above it (whereas the text of the iPhone 3G was printed in a non-reflective, light-grey color). Note that, given their identical physical dimensions, cases for the iPhone 3G S will also fit the iPhone 3G.
July 2008	2nd Generation: iPhone 3G The iPhone 3G was the first to feature an all-plastic case and was available in two colors (white or black) with a rounded back. The iPhone 3G was available in two capacities, 8 and 16GB. The iPhone 3G looks nearly identical to the iPhone 3G S. The only notable difference is the text printed on the back: the iPhone 3G is printed in a light-grey color, whereas the text on iPhone 3G S is reflective silver and matches the Apple logo above it. Note that, given their identical physical dimensions, cases for the iPhone 3G will also fit the iPhone 3G S.
June 2007	1st Generation: "Original" iPhone The first generation iPhone is distinguished by its aluminum back, notably different from the second and third generation iPhone, which both featured a hard plastic back. Another clear difference is the back of the first generation iPhone is flat, as opposed to the rounded back of the later generations. It was available in one color ("silver" aluminum) and three capacities (4, 8, and 16GB).

How to differentiate between the iPhone 4 and 4S

Because the iPhone 4S, Verizon iPhone 4, and AT&T iPhone 4 look so similar, it can be difficult to see the subtle differences among these three different models. Here are some additional illustrations to help you differentiate these phones: