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Apple Offers Free Cases To Solve iPhone 4 Antenna Problems
Apple just finished their press conference about the iPhone 4 antenna issues that have been widely reported and discussed in the past few weeks. Steve Jobs started by showing that the problem wasn't limited to iPhones, using videos of the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the HTC Droid Eris, and the Samsung Omnia 2 as examples, all of which dropped bars while being gripped in certain ways. He said, "This is life in the smartphone world. Phones aren't perfect. It's a challenge for the whole industry. Every phone has weak spots." He went on to say that only 0.55% of all iPhone 4 users have called in to complain about reception problems, and that the return rate on the iPhone 4 so far is less than a third of the return rate for the 3GS. Jobs then said that according to their data, the iPhone 4 drops an average of less than one additional call per hundred than the 3GS. He continued by pointing out that because the 3GS was based on the 3G, there was already a large supply of Bumpers, which most customers left the store with. When the iPhone 4 came out, the old Bumpers didn't fit, so stock was lower and fewer customers used them (80% vs. 20%). Therefore, Apple's solution to the antenna problems is to give a free case to every iPhone 4 purchaser before September 30. Refunds will be offered for those who already purchased one. Since they can't make the Bumpers fast enough, they'll be supplying other cases from third parties. Jobs also acknowledged recently reported problems with the proximity sensor, promising a future software update to fix it. Engadget's liveblog of the conference has a ton of pictures and more direct quotes from Jobs. It's worth looking at if only for pictures of Apple's anechoic testing chambers.
Pretty much what we would expect from any company in Apple's shoes. Damage control at minimum cost.
Apple's numbers are suspicious. Everyone I know with an iPhone 4 has the issue(s) but NONE of them have called AppleCare or gone to the Apple store to complain. They have all been patiently waiting for Apple to take care of them.
Keep the Classic Slashdot.
On the other hand, first acknowledging that there is a problem, and then making excuses about other smartphones if the iPhone 4 is indeed worse seems odd at best. Acceptance and denial at the same time?
And finally, what are these cases? One of the things that people find appealing about the iPhone is that it looks good. Will people suddenly find themselves with a much less good looking phone if they want a proper signal?
Clever signature text goes here.
From the Q/A:
10:41AM Q: I can't get my Bold to drop right now, maybe you can show me how to do it?
Steve: You may not see it in certain areas.
You justify your phone having issues by basically saying that other phones are poorly designed too? That's not thinking different. That's thinking like a politician. What a great solution too. Here is our brand new super thin phone that has reception problems. Here a thick case to wrap around the phone to fix that. Gee, thanks Steve.
No, it's about pointing out media sensationalism.
The primary feature of the phone is flawed. All they have to say is they made a mistake. The majority of this press conference was sugar coating a flaw which was probably known after the phones were through the manufacturing process.
I thought it was hilarious that he said it 'iPhone 4 drops an average of less than one additional call per hundred than the 3GS.' My cell phone almost never drops calls. Certainly not one in a hundred to even start with. That's just sad.
Furthermore, Apple does not admit the antenna is defective and does not intend to fix it.
Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
It wasn't _repairing_ it that required an appointment. It was _talking_ to them about repairing it. Just standing there talking to them in their store.
The basic Macbook (not macbook pro) is 1000 but often discounted to 800.
The fact that they would make a profit while repairing it doesn't bother me. The fact that their charge would be about 600$ for a half hour of labor (taking into account the cost of the part) bothered me.
Well, hell yeah. Apple's products have been average quality at best for a long time, but their users (a diproportionately high percentage of the bloggers on the internet) gloss over that fact all the while snickering and making much ado over nothing when minor issues arise in Microsoft or competing products. This is finally an issue that is so easily quantifiable that even Apple can't sweep it under the rug by pretending that all phones have this egregious design flaw, or by blaming AT&T(or Orange, or one of the myriad of other carriers the world over that the iPhone has had terrible reception on). So, yes, a lot of this hubbub is overblown, but it sure is fun to sit back and watch Steve Jobs squirm like the weasel that he is.
by Mike Buddha -- Someday the mountain might get him, but the law never will.
Do you have actual metrics to back that up?
Straight from the horse's mouth, Steve said that the iPhone 4, with the "vastly superior" antenna, drops more calls than the 3GS. Clearly the holding technique isn't quite so unusual.
Apple's demonstration was unbelievably deceptive: They are implying that the problem is a death grip problem (which is actually usual). Steve went on to say that the 3GS had less dropped calls because people used a case, even though a case does absolutely nothing to stop the downsides of a death grip. The 3GS already, for all intents and purposes, HAD a case, so third party cases are irrelevant.
The problem is the external antenna, and a very casual, non-death grip causes the serious reception issue. There's a reason why no one else uses an external antenna anymore. Well, except for Apple who thought it looked cool. Only not so cool in a bumper.
Jobs' has motive for saying the story is bullshit (especially considering there is a court case that has been granted class-action status). If he did not deny the story, it wil be used against Apple in the case. Moreover, he has a credibility issue right now.
Gizmodo is a third party, and they have been pretty consistent in reporting on both points of view on this issue.
Just sayin'
It's interesting that no-one seems to be paying special attention to the Sept 30 expiration of Apple's offer of free Bumper cases. In my mind, that hints at a few troubling scenarios that aren't properly addressed by today's press conference:
A) Apple will end up providing free cases for the iPhone 4 indefinitely.
B) After Sept 30, you have to pay for a case to solve a problem with the iPhone 4 that Apple officially acknowledges.
C) After Sept 30, revised iPhone 4 hardware will be hitting the shelves.
Both (A) and (B) seem highly unlikely...which leads me to believe (C) is the likely outcome. But course Apple doesn't want to cannibalize sales of existing iPhone 4 stock and slow down sales momentum, so they're keeping info about revised hardware under a very tight wrap. Maybe that means you should buy an iPhone 4 just yet?
No, it is a case of a crappy engineering. The point of the antenna design, as marketed, was to increase reception dramatically, not be the same as current designs.
A simple, low-cost solution would have been to apply a thin, transparent layer of some kind of insulating material over the antenna. Then it would look practically identical to what it is now, actually do what Apple says it does, in all use cases, and we would have evidence of competent engineers working at Apple.
Actually, this reminds me of the early months of the X-Box 360, when Microsoft was claiming that failure rates were well below 2.5%. They claimed there were only so many complaints because it was so successful, and most X-Box 360 owners were happy with it, etc... In fact, the statements were almost identical if you swap the product and company names.
Now, looking back, we know that the early 360s had a higher than 50% failure rate. The number of complaints and warranty claims were much higher than Microsoft originally admitted. It came out that Microsoft was aware of the flaws that caused it, but shipped anyways to avoid costs/delays. They extended the warranty, and fixed the design problems eventually.
My predictions for the iphone 4? Within a few years we will learn that this problem is causing a significant problem for at least 10% of iphone4 users. Customer satisfaction with the phone was far lower than Apple is reporting. Apple engineers knew of the reception problems, but they decided to ship anyways. Apple might offer some kind of warranty extension, but between the free bumper and the short lifespan of phones anyways I doubt it.
Gizmodo is a third party, and they have been pretty consistent in reporting on both points of view on this issue.
Actually Gizmodo may have an axe to grind, too. And the difference in reporting w.r.t. Apple since the "lost iphone" debacle is pronounced.