A Look Inside Apple's Wireless Testing Facilities

[axual]

Consumer Reports

I would like to see Consumer Reports testing of the signal problem on all the other Smartphones too ... how many did they test, what were the results, etc.

I would also like to see bloggers be a bit more responsible and not present information in such hyped fashion as many do ... report the facts, title posts accordingly and let consumers decide.

 

[Max(IT)]

If all this is the work of some mysterious FUD patrol, then how come they never did this before? The original iPhone had issues. The 3G had issues. The 3GS had issues (discoloration of the white model, etc). The iPad had issues (the dynamic IP allocation screwup that made some university ban it). Yet none of those problems gained any mainstream media traction.

And it's not like the iPhone didn't become a threat to competitors until now, that happened long ago. You can think up all sorts of conspiracy theories, but the fact is that this bandwagon was driven by iPhone 4 users themselves. They're the ones who complained on forums, they're the ones who experienced all the dropped calls and posted all those YouTube videos. There's no mysterious group of men in black out there who can control CNN, BBC, NY Times, WSJ, FOX, ABC, MSNBC and hundreds of news channels and newspapers around the world.

Yes, there were some contributing factors that fuelled the fire:

1) The story broke in the middle of the summer news draught
2) Apple marketed the phone like the second coming of Jesus and drove expectations beyond all sense and reason
3) Steve's arrogant "don't hold it that way" email
4) Apple's lack of early response allowed the story to run amok
5) Apple's sudden decision to make iPhone cases (or "bumpers") for the first time appeared to support the notion that they knew this would be an issue, and charging $30 for a band-aid is more ballsy than most people can take.

you are right on many point.
Apple handled this story in the worst way they could.

And Jobs was the first to screw up with that silly mail.

 

[Treefu]

Because I'm pretty sick about all this BS about a non-existent issue.

Then stop adding fuel to the fire!

And you can return your posts to the great void if you want to...

 

[badmac78]

Whether they spend $100 million or $500 million on antenna test facilities, if they don't test their products the right way, then they will release a defective product. I bet not a single one of their anechoic chamber tests involved even a human dummy holding an iphone. They probably just tested the iPhone 4 in total isolation.

You might want to read the article instead of just looking at the pictures... They test with humans and "human-like" dummies.

 

[Veri]

and you know very little about Apple, looking for something like that. Jobs always is on the front line, when Apple is in discussion.

Then maybe Apple needs to stop putting Jobs in the front line when one of his expert employees would be better at honestly and competently answering questions.

all this mess is about bloggers and journalist, not RF specialists.

All this mess is about users having problems with a product they bought from Apple. Bloggers and journalists picked it up because, well, they report stuff which happens.

The person I've heard about this most from is a friend who is a chronic Apple fanatic: he seems both annoyed that Apple have (for the first time) delivered a 'phone with a trivial hardware flaw which interferes with his enjoyment, and irritated by Apple's audacity at trying to deny their fault.

So it's not about "you can't prove me wrong", it's about trusting them more than I can trust you.

Science isn't about faith and trust. It is often about observation, though. Notice the lack of Apple engineers even asserting that a completely unshielded antenna was a good idea, let alone giving evidence (which is all that matters).

So the "bars drop videos" are good enough ONLY TO BASH IPHONE 4

No, it's entirely about results. How about actually going somewhere which isn't on top of a base station and comparing data transfer speeds when holding and when not holding the iPhone as a left-handed gent would.

Now do the same with other 'phones held in the same way.

99% of the smartphone on the market nowadays resemble of the iphone.

They know how to package a good product of existing ideas, and it's certainly true that people follow that packaging. They're quite excellent at identifying what existing technologies are most usable and marketable.

 

[Anuba]

you are right on many point.
Apple handled this story in the worst way they could.

And Jobs was the first to screw up with that silly mail.

Yeah, you know... Steve said something to the effect of "we could have a wall of PR people". Well, maybe they should think about it after this.

A PR consultant would've given him some useful advice. First, stop writing arrogant emails that only serve to tick everyone off. Second, come clean. It worked for Hugh Grant when he was caught with a hooker in a car. It worked for Letterman after he banged every Late Show intern for the last 30 years. When you come clean everyone's completely stumped and the bandwagon stops dead in its tracks.

Steve could've said "Yes, it's true. The iPhone 4 antennas can be bridged and we were aware of it. But it was all in an effort to make the iPhone thin and sexy. Sorry for not putting a warning label on the phones, we'll fix that. Meanwhile, free cases for everyone, or a full refund."

Instead he came out looking like Baghdad Bob, playing the victim card and offering cherry-picked statistics, denials and attempts to drag a bunch of other manufacturers with him in the fall. He could've pixelated the logos and UI graphics and kept the phones nameless, everyone would've figured it out anyway by studying the shapes but it would've at least conveyed an effort to take sole responsibility for the iPhone 4's shortcomings. Apple really needs to stop mentioning their enemies and their products by name, I don't care if it's Google or Adobe or Nokia or Microsoft. It's cheap and petty and beneath Apple.

Another cheap thing he does that's extremely annoying is the way he juxtaposes numbers with insane imaginary numbers to make the real numbers look good. "So how many users have this problem? 50%? 40%? No... only 0.55%". Where have I heard that before? Infomercials! The cheapest and most depraved marketing communication of all. "How much do you think the Super Ab-Flex Trainer costs? $500? $400? $300, surely? No, it's yours for only $99.99!"

 

[Tundraboy]

Cerebro!!!!!

Apple finally shows the public where Steve produces his reality distortion field!!

$100,000,000 Cerebro chamber!!!!!!

 

[Anuba]

Apple finally shows the public where Steve produces his reality distortion field!!

$100,000,000 Cerebro chamber!!!!!!

That's what it is. Damn, I thought it was the warrior egg chamber from "V".

 

[tkingart]

It looks like that voting place in Star Wars.

VOTE NOW!

 

[rcandre2]

so thats what they were building for past 22 days...
SWEET!

It has been built for many years now. Apple has just finally realized that they forgot to put the iPhone 4 in there for testing.

 

[farmboy]

There is no way Apple didn't know this. All phones have problem (a) which is what Apple focuses on while trying divert attention to the fact that only the iPhone has problem (b) to any significant degree.

I do find the misdirection rather impressive, though. It takes a certain amount of balls.

You find 0.55% significant? In what context is that significant?

 

[tkingart]

Apple finally shows the public where Steve produces his reality distortion field!!

$100,000,000 Cerebro chamber!!!!!!

Steve's a very private man you know, that's one of his many private fart chambers. It's a disturbing new trend in billionaire circles.

 

[AlmostThere]

Another cheap thing he does that's extremely annoying is the way he juxtaposes numbers with insane imaginary numbers to make the real numbers look good. "So how many users have this problem? 50%? 40%? No... only 0.55%". Where have I heard that before? Infomercials! The cheapest and most depraved marketing communication of all. "How much do you think the Super Ab-Flex Trainer costs? $500? $400? $300, surely? No, it's yours for only $99.99!"

Except in Nebraska!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLRf4L8HAvI

 

[farmboy]

No. .5% of people had made the problem known in a way which Apple records as a problem with the antenna. Everyone else has known that it's a big issue and not bothered wasting their and Apple's time with an individual contact. For example, a new-iPhone-4-owning friend has been spending much of the .

It defies credibility that you claim that "everyone else" has the problem but has failed to notify Apple to avoid wasting their time. Nonsense. And I have a friend that has no iPhone problems at all--anecdotes don't mean crap.

 

[Veri]

It defies credibility that you claim that "everyone else" has the problem but has failed to notify Apple to avoid wasting their time.

Please explain in clear detail why an informed iPhone purchaser with antenna problems would, before yesterday, have contacted Apple. Assume, of course, that he didn't just want to return the 'phone. What would he have achieved? Would the person on the other end of the 'phone have provided a personal fix just for him, mysteriously unavailable to everyone else suffering the problem? Would Apple have given him a fat cheque for his distress? I'm at a loss.

It looks like Apple customers were displaying some degree of understanding and patience in waiting for something from Apple. Apple did not deliver.

And I have a friend that has no iPhone problems at all--anecdotes don't mean crap.

Anecdotes confirm the existence of some problem. Theory and brief testing confirm that signal attenuation and resultant loss of call/data performance is caused by the juxtaposing of unshielded antennas gripped simultaneously by the hand. Reporters publish information about the problem in layman's terms. Those with more specialised equipment repeat the tests and confirm the problem. All rational so far.

Apple points out that they do antenna testing (oh wow really?) and that signals from any antenna on earth can all be attenuated by a nearby hand (you don't say!). Apple break what had been a rational sequence of discovery and dissemination with some Wonka handwaving.

 

[Journojulz]

Another cheap thing he does that's extremely annoying is the way he juxtaposes numbers with insane imaginary numbers to make the real numbers look good.

I thought the "less than 1% increase in dropped calls" statistic brought a real perspective on the issue as it was a real figure from the carrier about the effect in the real world.

 

[randyhudson]

Sounds like they are admitting...

Apple's admitting that they never tested the phone with real, electroconductive sweaty palms, but chose to use "phantom" hands and heads made of insulating rubber. Now that they've shown their hand, it's easy to see why they missed the issue entirely in their testing.

 

[ARM1968]

All this belly aching and hand ringing is quite amusing.

The bug issue is that Apple knew there was a problem and created bumpers in an attempt to fix it. What other purpose do they have.

Taking that into account makes things a darn sight more underhanded, murky and arrogant!!

And I'm posting this from my iPhone 4. I also have and iPad, a MacBook Pro and an iMac. So I'm not a hater, just a realist. We've been duped.

 

[farmboy]

OH, PLEASE. Now you're just being silly.
You've just entered the retro world equivalent of "Macs are only good for graphics". Apple has absolutely tons of patents, which means they literally invent more than almost any other tech company. They have multiple patents issued literally every day.

As for publishing research, the reason they don't is because it's applied science, not theoretical--no reason to give competitors any additional knowledge.

 

[meatballs]

Yeah, you know... Steve said something to the effect of "we could have a wall of PR people". Well, maybe they should think about it after this.

A PR consultant would've given him some useful advice. First, stop writing arrogant emails that only serve to tick everyone off. Second, come clean. It worked for Hugh Grant when he was caught with a hooker in a car. It worked for Letterman after he banged every Late Show intern for the last 30 years. When you come clean everyone's completely stumped and the bandwagon stops dead in its tracks.

Steve could've said "Yes, it's true. The iPhone 4 antennas can be bridged and we were aware of it. But it was all in an effort to make the iPhone thin and sexy. Sorry for not putting a warning label on the phones, we'll fix that. Meanwhile, free cases for everyone, or a full refund."

Instead he came out looking like Baghdad Bob, playing the victim card and offering cherry-picked statistics, denials and attempts to drag a bunch of other manufacturers with him in the fall. He could've pixelated the logos and UI graphics and kept the phones nameless, everyone would've figured it out anyway by studying the shapes but it would've at least conveyed an effort to take sole responsibility for the iPhone 4's shortcomings. Apple really needs to stop mentioning their enemies and their products by name, I don't care if it's Google or Adobe or Nokia or Microsoft. It's cheap and petty and beneath Apple.

Another cheap thing he does that's extremely annoying is the way he juxtaposes numbers with insane imaginary numbers to make the real numbers look good. "So how many users have this problem? 50%? 40%? No... only 0.55%". Where have I heard that before? Infomercials! The cheapest and most depraved marketing communication of all. "How much do you think the Super Ab-Flex Trainer costs? $500? $400? $300, surely? No, it's yours for only $99.99!"

This is the most intelligent post I've read here since the Jobs PC.

 

[mixel]

Nice to know they're spending so much time/money making sure the phones work right. Mines been fine anyway. I'd like one of those "throne" rooms once I become an evil dictator.

Seriously, more of an issue to me is the still quite easily scratched glass. Not that it affects usage of the phone much.

 

[mytdave]

Special rubber band

The thing I noticed when I watched the video that I thought was kinda funny is the rubber band wrapped around the iPhone holding it out to that extended beams in the testing facility. Just saying with all the $ that went into the place they would have something other than a rubber band to hold it in place.

Ah yes, but that's a special $10,000 dollar rubber band with special magical properties.

 

[Journojulz]

The bug issue is that Apple knew there was a problem and created bumpers in an attempt to fix it. What other purpose do they have.

to protect an object that is essentially a glass sandwich without obscuring the glorious looking back?

We've been duped.

Into buying a great looking phone sensitive in low signal areas that is better the last best phone?

I have played on a HTC hero - I know which i would choose.

But if you don't like iP4 - take it back.

 

[.Andy]

I thought the "less than 1% increase in dropped calls" statistic brought a real perspective on the issue as it was a real figure from the carrier about the effect in the real world.

You should have a read through this thread; https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/970140/

The 1% claim as you've interpreted it is rather ambiguous. The claim was 1/100 more dropped calls than the 3GS. Not 1% more dropped calls than the 3GS.

 

[Tundraboy]

Steve's a very private man you know, that's one of his many private fart chambers. It's a disturbing new trend in billionaire circles.

Its called Fart Time!!! He's bridging the gap with his butt cheek!!!!!