Comparing safety issues with something like this? Talk about apples and oranges. And yes car software has issues too, that's why there are times when there are updates and even recalls.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Confirms a Fix is Coming for Static Noise Problem Affecting iPhone 8 Earpiece
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Well, I did answer to the poster who brought up cars. And an earpiece flaw is central to UX of, you know, iPhone.
It's not just about what's central, but about consequences. And, again, yes, even cars have issues too, but they also have different software processes and standards given the differences in insustry and use and requirements and a lot of other things.
I have several open bugs that were reported in 2015 during the initial 9.0 beta series. Still unfixed, still open 2 years later. A few don’t even appear to have been reviewed yet, as there are no engineering notes and they haven’t been marked as dupes or closed for any reason. I continue to update notes with every release confirming I can still reproduce the problem, and to bump it in the system.
If it all gets fixed with a update no one will care in a couple of months and it will get forgotten about. Good on them for coming out and saying it needs fixing. Has made me okay with it now. These sorts of problems happen with everything new.
Depends on if it might apply to a particular scenario/configuration/frequency/etc.
I somewhat disagree. I don't think it's just about the hardware being returned for the sake of cost versus the backlash that demands a response from Apple. I think it's about the massive amount of people contacting Apple via email, phone support, tech sites reporting news and contacting Apple directly. This type of immense feedback has to draw a reaction from Apple, one way or the other, they have to answer to it. And if it's Software related, it doesn't affect just a few hundred iPhone users, it affects all iPhones . And Apple has determined it softer related, which a patch would rectify this issue.
Apple make products we pay a premium for that are built in cheap factories with generally cheap components, software in phones has become more complex and there are many behind the hood changes we don't see in the code. First release hardware/software is always a public Beta really and people should understand that now. Okay I'm not letting Apple off the hook but this year they had the split with the iPhone 8 and X which sounds like it needed the lions share of attention at points. Also there is a time where if there are no show stopping bugs and 'crackle' seems to not be one then they release it and patch it later. The iPad Air 2 had vibration issues when released , most releases have an issue which is not pleasant I grant you, but Apple buyers are technically paying for a brand name not a hand crafted master peace. Hope you get it all fixed soon. I'm sticking with my 7 this year but that's not perfect either, nothing ever is when its made in the quantity Apple pushes out the door, but at least they patch it. My Sony XE93 Android TV has not had a security update since April and is buggy as hell on Nougat. I know which company I trust more, even with release bugs.
IMO, if you can only hear the cracking by holding the phone up to your ear, and not on speaker mode or through headphones, that makes it sound more like a hardware issue than a software issue. More specifically, with that speaker that provides that sound.
Maybe that is so, but I remember people saying ”quality isn’t what it used to be” about Apple also in 2003. So when was it actually good?
Maybe things goes up and down quality control wise, also at Apple.
If it had then surely they should be aware of what causes it and made sure it didn't happen again.
You know, learn from your mistakes.
[doublepost=1506502128][/doublepost]
That attitude right there is the problem:
Software Engineer 1: "Hey Bill, look, if these things occur I get a problem"
Software Engineer 2: "Who cares? The boss says we need to ship, fix it latter"
Software Engineer 1: "Yeah, it's lunch time anyway".
Lately? Ehhhh they’ve had sloppy moments for about a decade... Once again people talking about “lately” when Apple has been making mistakes since Steve was in charge.
[doublepost=1506509191][/doublepost]
Unwarranted scrutiny at that. Sure Apple should be held to a high standard, and has been for a long time. Apple does a lot of things extremely well. Mistakes are nothing new. People are just mad because they still charge a premium for their products.
This is my thinking exactly. Makes no sense to say it's software if it's sporadic and only affects the earpiece. It has nothing to do with frequencies or anything like that either. My 8+ is affected and I've been testing it. To test I've been calling my companies auto attendant phone system, therefore the frequencies in the audio are the same every time, and sometimes I don't hear the static, sometimes I do. There is no rhyme or reason to it. Maybe just the act of putting my phone down and picking it up causes a connection to move or something, I don't know. But you can't convince me it's a software problem when there isn't a pattern to the problem (I'm a software engineer so I understand bugs in software).
My new iPhone 8 has been perfect so far. I understand that problem shouldn't happen, but I wonder how many are really affected.
That's what happened with my 6+ getting touch disease before apple officially acknowledged the issue. Geniuses said "iPhone tests say its all fine, sorry." I did get a replacement which has been fine for a few months, but i know the design flaw is still there so I have a ticking time bomb until i buy a new model.
“The noise issue can be bypassed by using headphones or the speaker phone option on an affected device, suggesting the issue lies in the software rather than the hardware.”
How does the noise going away when played through different hardware suggest that this is a software issue? I would draw the opposite conclusion, but perhaps digital manipulation of the sound could lead to a software fix for a hardware issue.
How does the noise going away when played through different hardware suggest that this is a software issue? I would draw the opposite conclusion, but perhaps digital manipulation of the sound could lead to a software fix for a hardware issue.
That's my thinking as well.
Apple is a hardware company. They will only admit to a hardware issue when the knife of a class-action lawsuit is held to their throat. Until then, "only a few isolated incidents", "software issue", etc.
It's possible that there is some electrical interference from the components near the earpiece. That would be a hardware problem. The software "fix" might consist of temporarily disabling the hardware that is the cause of the interference (or modifying it's behavior via software) while a phone call is in progress.
Affects all iPhones out of the box, no apps installed or anything setup like Siri etc, basic scratch setup, crackles on calls. More noticeable when the volume is at max. 16/16 handsets at our office have the bug, all from different suppliers and on various networks.
[doublepost=1506521767][/doublepost]
audio driver for earpiece. As its only affects calls (cellular, VoIP and Wifi calling) and doesn't affect media playback.