Betcha Apple completely redesigns antenna in iPhone 5

[Small White Car]

That's irrelevant really as a PR nightmare is a PR nightmare and Apple will be wanting to avoid that at all costs.

Why?

They sold them faster than they could make them.

I'm gonna repeat that: Faster than they could make them.

So what did they lose, really? Had there been no antenna news they would have not sold any more iPhones than they actually sold. This is one of the few times you can say that kind of thing with certainty.

 

[tirk]

Why?

They sold them faster than they could make them.

I'm gonna repeat that: Faster than they could make them.

So what did they lose, really? Had there been no antenna news they would have not sold any more iPhones than they actually sold. This is one of the few times you can say that kind of thing with certainty.

OK, I'll bite!

They lost the cost of the cases & bumpers they gave away (less, I suppose, the profit from extra cases and bumpers they probably sold after the giveaway ended, due to the publicity). Plus some goodwill from those who bought the iP4 and were affected and unhappy.

(Disclaimer - Where I live & work, you can power a washing machine off the signal strength! So I'm not personally affected )

 

[Givmeabrek]

Actually the iPhone antenna will be a little bit weaker. The real problem was making the antenna too good. It now picks up the weakest of signals and those with poor reception are looking for great service.

Weakening the antenna would be a good solution for cleaning out the moaners, complainers and general riffraff with poor phone service. They can head on over to Verizon or Sprint and do their complaining there.

The result will be nothing but more happy Apple customers. All of them now with good service.

It's all part of Apple's master plan.

 

[mrochester]

Why?

They sold them faster than they could make them.

I'm gonna repeat that: Faster than they could make them.

So what did they lose, really? Had there been no antenna news they would have not sold any more iPhones than they actually sold. This is one of the few times you can say that kind of thing with certainty.

I doubt Apple would be silly enough to deliberately incite a further PR crisis for themselves, especially as it'll cost them money and bad press. If they can avoid all that with a simple antenna redesign, I think that's what they'll do.

 

[Small White Car]

If they can avoid all that with a simple antenna redesign, I think that's what they'll do.

How do you propose they do that?

The i4 antenna gets better signal strength than the old version. It also has the death-grip issue.

Going back to the old way would make the 10% who have death-grip problems happy. It would then make the other 90% of users unhappy as their service would get worse.

So going backwards isn't an option if you don't want a 'PR nightmare.'

I'm sure they're working on moving forward and improving the design for the future, but these things take time. Over a year, in fact. We may see bigger changes in 2012, but the 2011 iPhone has been in the works since before the i4 came out. There's only so much they can do in under a year. (And it is less than a year because they have to start building them before they can sell them. So the 'must-be-done' date is well under a year after the previous model went on sale.)

I stand by my prediction: Only minor changes this year.

 

[mrochester]

How do you propose they do that?

The i4 antenna gets better signal strength than the old version. It also has the death-grip issue.

Going back to the old way would make the 10% who have death-grip problems happy. It would then make the other 90% of users unhappy as their service would get worse.

So going backwards isn't an option if you don't want a 'PR nightmare.'

I'm sure they're working on moving forward and improving the design for the future, but these things take time. Over a year, in fact. We may see bigger changes in 2012, but the 2011 iPhone has been in the works since before the i4 came out. There's only so much they can do in under a year. (And it is less than a year because they have to start building them before they can sell them. So the 'must-be-done' date is well under a year after the previous model went on sale.)

I stand by my prediction: Only minor changes this year.

I think making the sane mistake again would be the most costly. Who's to say that Apple can't eradicate the problem and still maintain the slightly better reception?

 

[Small White Car]

I think making the sane mistake again would be the most costly. Who's to say that Apple can't eradicate the problem and still maintain the slightly better reception?

I'm sure they will.

In 2012.

Wishing for a massive change this year is just unrealisitc. The time between the problem surfacing last July and when the iPhone 5 design needs to be frozen is probably less than 8 months.

When you're talking about designs that take over a year to develop, that's not much time for anything other than a rush job.

And after last summer, do you think Apple is interested in doing 'rush jobs' on brand new antenna designs? I doubt it.

 

[mrochester]

I'm sure they will.

In 2012.

Wishing for a massive change this year is just unrealisitc. The time between the problem surfacing last July and when the iPhone 5 design needs to be frozen is probably less than 8 months.

When you're talking about designs that take over a year to develop, that's not much time for anything other than a rush job.

And after last summer, do you think Apple is interested in doing 'rush jobs' on brand new antenna designs? I doubt it.

I'm sure Apple have some sort of contingency plan for circumstances like this and perhaps that has been activated? Otherwise I hope they are prepared for the media onslaught they will get if they leave things unchanged.

 

[syc23]

The iP4 is by far the most beautiful phone ever designed - would be a shame to change the design so soon. Highly doubt a redesign will happen this June and Apple will most likely tweak the antenna.

 

[JulianL]

If the design team in Apple has come up with a design that has superior performance and fits within all the other constraints (cost, size, weight, mass-produceability, form factor and aesthetics) then they'll use it in the iPhone 5. If they don't have an improved design then they'll do whatever tweaks they can around the existing design.

As for wanting to avoid more negative publicity regarding the antenna, of course Apple want to avoid that, and they will if they can (as described above). Selling more iPhone 4s than they can build doesn't seem to me to make much difference here. Would Apple prefer blockbuster sales with background sniping from the likes of the consumer groups and some of the press or would they prefer blockbuster sales without background sniping from the likes of the consumer groups and some of the press? That's a bit like asking if you'd like to win a million dollars but have everyone spit at you in the street whenever you pass by, or would you like to win a million dollars but not be spat at in the street all the time? I don't know about other people, but I'd choose the option without the spitting.

- Julian

 

[Sedrick]

I'd like to see the next iPhone have a snap on back that slips up around the frame. This would add negligible width, but cover the antenna (as god intended). It would also allow them to round out the back slightly so it would be more pleasing to hold and pocket.

 

[Givmeabrek]

I'd like to see the next iPhone have a snap on back that slips up around the frame. This would add negligible width, but cover the antenna (as god intended). It would also allow them to round out the back slightly so it would be more pleasing to hold and pocket.

Yup, it's called a case. Get one.

 

[mstrze]

That's irrelevant really as a PR nightmare is a PR nightmare and Apple will be wanting to avoid that at all costs. Introducing a whole new model with the same problem would be suicide!

And yet this supposed 'nightmare' that really only affected less than 1% of owners did not lose them any sales...in fact, the news coverage may have even helped spread the word of the 'cool' new phone.

ANY type of coverage is like free advertising.

I would agree with the antenna-haters IF the iPhone 4 suffered major sales losses compared to the 3GS but that just didn't happen.

Does anyone think that Consumer Reports non-recommendation of the VZN iPhone is hurting sales?

 

[ozred]

"There is no problem"

That's all it takes to be an Apple fanboy.

Apples perfect don't ya know... Heh!

 

[mrochester]

And yet this supposed 'nightmare' that really only affected less than 1% of owners did not lose them any sales...in fact, the news coverage may have even helped spread the word of the 'cool' new phone.

ANY type of coverage is like free advertising.

I would agree with the antenna-haters IF the iPhone 4 suffered major sales losses compared to the 3GS but that just didn't happen.

Does anyone think that Consumer Reports non-recommendation of the VZN iPhone is hurting sales?

Well it was a PR nightmare as Apple had to call a rather unprecedented event to address the issue! They'll be looking to avoid a repeat of that at all costs I suspect.

 

[mstrze]

Well it was a PR nightmare as Apple had to call a rather unprecedented event to address the issue! They'll be looking to avoid a repeat of that at all costs I suspect.

So you are saying they will now go back, for the sake of the 0.55% (Apple's measurement of the number of complaints) of users who experienced problems with the antenna, and admit that:

"The antenna design we came up with the iPhone 4 WAS horribly flawed and what we said at the end of the summer of 2009 is wrong...it IS in fact a problem...that's why we redesigned it." ???

I would argue that Apple admitting their antenna design is flawed would be an even worse PR nightmare. And by redesigning it 'between model refresh years' that's EXACTLY what they would be saying. Without so many words.

Not being an Apple 'fan boy' here, just looking at the issue from a purely PR angle, like you have been. They stand behind the design, found that it works for nearly 99.5%** of their customers, did NOT change it for the Verizon release and now, somehow they will redesign? Amazingly unlikely to me...just because I think they would want to avoid a different PR nightmare...the opposite of yours.

**(that amount may a lot closer to 100% now as that 0.55% number was from last summer when total number of the iPhone 4s were a lot less than is out there today...or you might argue it could be the same IF the 'flaw' were affecting everyone equally across the globe. If anyone has current values, I welcome the data.)

 

[kdarling]

So you are saying they will now go back, for the sake of the 0.55% (Apple's measurement of the number of complaints) of users who experienced problems with the antenna, and admit that:....

As you suggested, it could be much higher than that.

That 0.55% was only composed of people who called Applecare to complain. It left out anyone who called ATT instead, or who came in person to an Apple or ATT store.

At the time there was so much publicity about the antenna, most people would not have called Applecare since it was a known problem waiting on a solution.

Likewise, he only gave return rates at ATT stores, not Apple stores where most people would take their phone. He was clearly picking and choosing the lowest rates available.

Jobs also offhandedly mentioned that the data he was showing was several days old, a comment that went unnoticed even though he never says anything without a purpose. Who knows what the latest data would've shown.

 

[mrochester]

So you are saying they will now go back, for the sake of the 0.55% (Apple's measurement of the number of complaints) of users who experienced problems with the antenna, and admit that:

"The antenna design we came up with the iPhone 4 WAS horribly flawed and what we said at the end of the summer of 2009 is wrong...it IS in fact a problem...that's why we redesigned it." ???

I would argue that Apple admitting their antenna design is flawed would be an even worse PR nightmare. And by redesigning it 'between model refresh years' that's EXACTLY what they would be saying. Without so many words.

Not being an Apple 'fan boy' here, just looking at the issue from a purely PR angle, like you have been. They stand behind the design, found that it works for nearly 99.5%** of their customers, did NOT change it for the Verizon release and now, somehow they will redesign? Amazingly unlikely to me...just because I think they would want to avoid a different PR nightmare...the opposite of yours.

**(that amount may a lot closer to 100% now as that 0.55% number was from last summer when total number of the iPhone 4s were a lot less than is out there today...or you might argue it could be the same IF the 'flaw' were affecting everyone equally across the globe. If anyone has current values, I welcome the data.)

No I'm saying that I think Apple will do something to the antenna to stop that single black seam from being such a problem (given that is the thing that people have issue with). As such, I think it will be redesigned in some way to fix this issue and I think they'd face another PR nightmare if they just left it as is (given they've now had plenty of time to resolve it).