How will Apple make good on the iPhone 4 antenna issues?

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ryan July 16, 2010

How will Apple make good on the iPhone 4 antenna issues?

We'll be finding out live: live.gdgt.com/2010/07/16/live-iphone-4-press-event...

Discuss our iPhone 4 press event coverage here!

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Jonbruc 2010-07-16 11:56:13

Steve will reveal tech journalists' year to year phone and data usage. He will then announce that only two units have been returned to Apple stores.

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karthiu 2010-07-16 12:27:40

I just like the way the iPhone 4 is, I do not want any change to antenna, as it gets very good signal and really long battery life.

I hope there is no recall and ff there is one I hope it is voluntary does not change any thing other than the antenna.

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dave 2010-07-16 12:34:01

Predicted format:

* Start with how many millions of iPhones they've sold in the last month (2 million? 3 million?)
* Talk about iOS 4 adoption rates ("120000%" and some back handed slap about Vista.)
* Number of apps now in the App store (nice round number, like 250K).
* Highlight tech pundit reviews ("iPhone 4 is the greatest thing since wine was invented.")
* Talk about the iPhone 4's reception ("Best performance of any iPhone")
* Talk about problem they just discovered. "WHO KNEW METAL IS CONDUCTIVE?!"
* Fix for future iPhones starting on some future date (i.e., September) - New building process.
* Steve says current iPhone 4 owners will be compensated with a $10 iTunes gift certificate.
* Steve complains there's too many wifi routers in the audience and wants people to shut them down.

As I mentioned on Twitter (see: twitter.com/rockbandit/status/18650476926 ), his other option is that he might just come out wearing only a towel and tackle this issue Old Spice style.

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orubin 2010-07-16 13:21:24

Really Steve? So your answer so far is like that of a little kid. "Oh yea, well all these other phones do it too!" I can hear my mom saying, "If all your friends jumped off a bridge......"

And one Apple engineer spoke anonymously yesterday saying that RF engineers inside Apple DID know of the problem, and choose to ignore it.

So far, not impressed with their answers

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orubin 2010-07-16 13:28:59

Wow. Steve says only a few calls to Apple Care on the problem. I didn't call Apple with the problem, what were they going to do? It was already known. This is a bad data point. Maybe we should ALL start calling Apple about the problem!

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beau 2010-07-16 13:51:14

People who already dislike Apple are going to be enraged by this, but then people who already dislike Apple aren't Apple's target market.

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dstarh 2010-07-16 13:54:20

anyone else feel that if "att is recording all the dropped calls" that we should be getting a refund for all those damn dropped calls automatically?

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nizzy 2010-07-16 10:38:55

free bumpers... a recall would be absurd. i'm assuming a patch won't fix a hardware issue.

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willw 2010-07-16 10:55:01

I'm better they won't do free Bumpers, credit, or recall. Maybe just extend return period for 30 more days from today or something along those lines.

I am still unclear whether the problem is even a big deal, or just a small issue that has snowballed due to Apple's initial responses..

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bcarr 2010-07-16 12:27:30

Not so sure that this'll make Apple look better, but there's hopes that they'll at least be HONEST.

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Dan12R 2010-07-16 13:24:53

Jobs says only 1.7% of iPhone 4's have been returned. I wonder what it's going to be now that you're essentially saying you're going to do jack squat about the problem.

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jeremykrall 2010-07-16 13:29:16

Its going to be the same because not that many people are actually experiencing any issues with their phones.

dave 2010-07-16 13:29:59

Exactly, by and large, most people aren't having problems with their iPhones.

orubin 2010-07-16 13:31:34

I disagree. Most probably are, but are in strong enough signal areas not to care. I have two in my family, and they both have problems where we live. And it drops calls MUCH more often than the older phones.

jeremykrall 2010-07-16 13:33:57

Multiple iPhone 4s in my family spread across the US and no one is experiencing issues. Drop calls = none, data blockage = none, proximity = none, etc.

orubin 2010-07-16 13:34:53

Are they all in cases or have bumpers? We cannot find a case at any local store

jeremykrall 2010-07-16 13:37:54

Some don't use a case, some have bumpers and others use the new Belikn or Sonix cases

dave 2010-07-16 13:39:16

@orubin: "I disagree. Most probably are, but are in strong enough signal areas not to care. I have two in my family, and they both have problems where we live. And it drops calls MUCH more often than the older phones."

Eh, I disagree with this. I can get my signal to degrade with death grip, but I can still make calls. Something like 40% of my calls on the 3GS dropped. In the ~month I've had my iPhone, I've dropped a total of 3 calls. That's a significant improvement.

It's hard to pin down. I think there's a lot of observer bias regarding this issue since most people are only forming opinions based on the observations they see around them.

orubin 2010-07-16 13:43:30

Thanks Dave. How strange how different the problem is for each of us. I drop from 5 bars to 1 holding it without a case, and I loose the 3G icon as well. It will drop calls about every 5 minutes. Then I tried someone else's case, and the problem was mostly gone, and the drops mostly disappeared (subject to AT&T's network issues in big cities.)

I do not doubt your results, but please don't tell me that nothing is wrong.

Besides, this was Steve's answer on the issue: Steve: You may not see it in certain areas.

jeremykrall 2010-07-16 13:46:25

He's not saying nothing is wrong with YOUR phone, your experience does not equal everyone's. So I would return yours and try another.

dave 2010-07-16 13:48:58

Exactly. To say that everyone is having this problem is a stretch. I would wager that only a slim percentage of people are having this problem (Steve's B.S. data of 0.55% notwithstanding). If people are that angry about it, take the phone back.

orubin 2010-07-16 13:50:01

Not just ONE phone. We have two, and the both do the exact same thing. My guess is the problem is worse in areas where the signal is not so strong. And I have returned and exchanged one of them (for a different problem), and it made no difference. Our results are the same on three random phones.

I will put cases on them when I can find one, and I think it will solve the problem just fine. BUT, the problem is truly there, and not just with "my phone"

Dave: I did not say that everyone is having the problem. I say the phone has an issue that will effect people when they get in low signal areas. Very different. I do not believe it is just some phone that have a problem. The design has issues in weaker areas IMO and experience.

orubin 2010-07-16 13:59:33

I do not believe it is that simple. I like the phone, I do not plan on "just taking it back" (bad answer really), it just has problems in weak areas. I do not see a problem in some areas, and do in others. You may never see it if you are in strong signal areas.

But this is not a problem with some phones, but a design issue that effects people, without cases, in weaker signal areas.

And I believe Steve just said that exact same thing: "If you grip them in a certain way they lose signal strength dramatically, especially in a low signal strength area."

Jonbruc 2010-07-16 15:39:30

its only 1.7% because so many people are still waiting for thier phones to ship.

dave 2010-07-16 16:02:10

Still, with 3 million phones shipped already (which is a pretty great sample size), do you really think the return rate will increase that much? Doubtful.

Jonbruc 2010-07-16 16:07:48

I know I'm not returning mine...

ArmpitOfDeath 2010-07-16 18:59:54

So - I haven't been following it or anything but I can't move on Twitter for negative comments about the press event - would it be right in saying...

...they held it in the wrong way?

I thank you. I'll be here all week.

toddjy 2010-07-17 04:56:16

That's almost two out of every hundred phones have been returned. And we're not just talking about an average consumer base. We're talking about people who had to get the new iPhone. They couldn't settle for the old version, or just any smartphone; they had to have that one. And yet, they returned it.

That's how bad it really is.

sirloxelroy 2010-07-16 13:54:09

It is kinda irritating on the 10:43 question it is said "[Basically Bob didn't answer the question.]" When in actuality he did. As anyone who deals with real RF (not RFID stuff as that is a little different) would know. The minute you touch an antenna the signal quality is going to change, usually radically. Also, the antenna type is very important, the iPhone 4 has a single linear antenna, but when you cover the gap your finger turns that linear antenna into a loop antenna, completely changing how the antenna radiates and receives. Kinda like hooking a loop up in place of rabbit ears on your TV.

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iamwilliam 2010-07-16 14:01:29

Is the FTC test part of the problem? This was on one of the blogs.

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iamwilliam 2010-07-16 14:05:14

Will international operators work with the refund? For example T-Mobile, will they allow refunds?

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mysticduck 2010-07-16 14:06:20

You know, the "all smartphones have problems with the death grip" statement bugs me. Sure, death grip affects smartphones, but show me another phone where a single finger placed on the phone in the right spot causes this sort of signal problem.

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iamwilliam 2010-07-16 14:15:49

Is a software update comming for the iPhone 3G? They became real slow since iOS 4. Everybody (company of 10 users) here noticed it happening!

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quandmeme 2010-07-16 14:16:08

Ryan, awesome coverage. Your pictures are poor, but given the choice between sacrificing your transcription for better photos, just keep hammerin' away. Thanks.

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ilovetofu 2010-07-16 14:24:44

Can you please ask about App Store refunds for those that are returning their iPhones? Thank you!

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smspencer 2010-07-16 14:33:50

Mine is just as bad in a leather wallet case as it is in my hand. Does the case have to be rubber, does anyone know? I thought it was just any case.

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Ashley 2010-07-16 22:13:07

Great coverage. Thanks Ryan.

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