Coverage of Apple's iPhone 4 Press Conference

[Treefu]

Technical flaw? or design oversight?

They don't really make reporters like they used to. Apple gave journalism a chance but most of them were too easy. Perhaps of fear of not getting re-invited in the future, who knows.

Anyway, and this may have already been asked... The one question however, I would've liked to hear Apple's honest answer too is this:

How (and why) was the tiniest but worst spot to touch the phone placed where it is most likely to be touched?

Does anyone know?

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Apple is always making fun of companies like RIM and HTC etc and state they themselves are innovative and forward thinking, which they are.

So why are they comparing themselves to them now?

If Blackberry and HTC really do drop signal like shown in the video so what? What Apple were saying is because their competitors phones drop signal its ok for iPhone 4 to do the same? No it isnt.

Stop making excuses and trying to shift blame to the whole industry, to try and hide their own mistakes.

 

[iBug2]

Wrong. Bridging the antennas is the issue with the iPhone 4. No other smart phone has this problem because they have internal antennas and to bridge them you'd have to open them up. Jobs presentation was pure deflection.

Please pay attention in the future.

Wrong. When you grip the phone, you are ALREADY bridging the antennas. So that issue is not isolated from the gripping issue.

 

[kalsta]

Marketing, not science

This is damage control, pure and simple. Steve said they take all this negative feedback personally, and that's probably very true, but the real fear for them now is a huge loss of market-share to other mobile platforms (particularly Android) before they have time to bring a new design to market.

All things considered, I think Steve delivered an impressive speech — from Apple's point of view. It was a well crafted marketing message, with data carefully selected to paint the phone in the most positive light possible, while not entirely dismissing the issue. From a business point of view, what other option do they have but to try and keep their user base as large as possible through the iPhone 4's life? Once someone chooses a platform and starts investing in it (purchasing applications, becoming increasingly familiar and comfortable with how everything works) the choice to switch becomes harder.

From the buyer's perspective, it's not so good. Apple has not been entirely transparent as claimed, or they would have quoted actual signal strength (like Anandtech did, showing up to a 24 dB drop in signal) and compared this data to a wide range of other phones on the market. Showing videos of bars dropping on three other phones is marketing, not science. That’s to be expected from people posting YouTube videos from their bedrooms, but Apple, for all their PhDs and multi-million-dollar testing facilities, can’t give us comprehensive numerical data? Of course they could — if it was favourable for them. I suspect it won’t be too long before someone else (perhaps one of the three manufacturers from today’s videos) makes up for this omission.

Apple does not have a real solution to fix reception issues on the iPhone 4 you've already purchased. It's possible they are working on a manufacturing improvement to the current design (as has been rumoured), but they would never divulge this information if it were true, because then they’d have a difficult time selling the millions of phones currently coming off the production line. Either way, you're probably out of luck if you hold on to your current iPhone 4 (unless of course you're happy with the bumper 'fix').

Nothing today has changed my mind about not buying the iPhone 4. I think the glass back is also a liability, since it is prone to shatter on impact, but that’s been overshadowed by other issues. My iPhone 3G still works for me.

Someone wake me when iPhone 5 comes out.

 

[kalsta]

So wait, first he admits that all phones have this problem and you can't get around the laws of physics.

Then he admits its cured by putting a layer between your hand and the antenna.

Which is it? A defective design? Or a problem with all phones? I don't know any other phone with the antenna on the outside.

Spot on!! It can't be both. Great comment.

 

[justperry]

So wait, first he admits that all phones have this problem and you can't get around the laws of physics.

Then he admits its cured by putting a layer between your hand and the antenna.

Which is it? A defective design? Or a problem with all phones? I don't know any other phone with the antenna on the outside.

It's a hardware design flaw.
Reason,if You put two metals next to each other with an insulator in between two things can/might happen.

1 st
If fingers-skin is dry it acts as an Capacitor which will change the workings of the antenna,less output,change of frequency.

2 th
When Fingers-skin is wet from sweat for instance it will be sort of an short circuit,sweat is salt water and the more salt in it the more it will conduct currents so the more it will be a short circuit and again affecting the output of the antenna.

The gap in between the two metal parts of the antenna should have been at least an inch apart so we would not see this happen or at least only in rare cases where someone would have severe sweaty hands and holding it tight.
It surely is a design flaw,whatever SJ might want consumers to believe,it's a lie what He BS now.and that's a fact

Why else does He offer free bumpers.

However,I do believe that it's not a major problem to most people,I do think it also depends very much on how much signal You get.
There's probably a certain barrier in the signal strength where this will happen a lot more,it also depends on people's skin and how the persons skin resistance is.
If people have an iPhone live in an area with very good reception I doubt it they have issues with it.
I also think that the majority of people which have iPhones live in areas with better than standard reception,and are better educated with more money and those people tend to live in bigger cities with better reception.

Conclusion,if all people with iPhones 4 would live in areas with spotty reception that 0.55 % would be a lot higher,therefore aggravating the problem and it would be very obvious that there indeed is a design fault

 

[iBug2]

Conclusion,if all people with iPhones 4 would live in areas with spotty reception that 0.55 % would be a lot higher,therefore aggravating the problem and it would be very obvious that there indeed is a design fault

If all people with Blackberry Bold would live in areas with spotty reception then their drop rate would be a lot higher therefore aggravating that handsets problem.

And no, it's not a design fault. Even if the gap was an inch apart you'd still bridge it when you hold the phone normally with your left hand.

 

[Treefu]

And no, it's not a design fault. Even if the gap was an inch apart you'd still bridge it when you hold the phone normally with your left hand.

But it is a poor choice in design, in this detail and from a users perspective. It has at least three sides to choose from, why choose to put it at the very position where it is going to be touched by most users?

Even moving it some few centimeters up would place it in the gap between thumbprint and palm. Some few centimeters down and it would be around on the bottom...

Most of us don't "fingergrease" in the dock connection do we? Couldn't the "dead spot gap" been placed in cohesion with the gap already made for the dock connection?

Or is there a proper, technical reason as to why it must be placed there?

Still looking for a report on that one from designers perspective.

 

[justperry]

If all people with Blackberry Bold would live in areas with spotty reception then their drop rate would be a lot higher therefore aggravating that handsets problem.

And no, it's not a design fault. Even if the gap was an inch apart you'd still bridge it when you hold the phone normally with your left hand.

True,that would be the case with all phones but that's not the point here,it's about the iP4.

Yes it is,if the gap is bigger there would be a bigger resistor in between the metal parts,example,if you have resistor wire which is 1 KOhm a Meter than it would be 100 KOhm for 100 meters.
The gap is what,1 mm so an inch would have a lot more resistance,so less problems.
Or in case of dry skin,a much smaller capacitor so less affect.
Proximity sensors (Capacitive) work much the same like capacitors,the nearer by the more it will react so the wider the gap the less it affects the signal!

 

[Eso]

The figures are not misleading.

1. Yes not everyone calls Apple Care but that's irrelevant.

Actually that figure is essential.

Apple cited the 0.55% figure in an effort to demonstrate that reception issues with the iPhone 4 are not widespread. How can you define "widespread" - as the percentage of iPhone 4s with reception issues:

We want to know the ratio of: "iPhone with issue" / "total iPhones".

Apple calculated the ratio of: "calls about reception" / "total iPhones".

As you notice, the two units are not the same. What does that mean? It means that you can not use Apple's figure of 0.55% to infer how many iPhone 4s are affected - which is exactly what they did. To estimate the ratio we want to find, you need this formula:

X ("iPhone with issue"/"users who report issue") * Y ("users who report issue"/"# calls") * Z ("# calls"/"total iPhones") = G ("iPhone with issue"/"total iPhones")

Z is the figure Apple provided us with.
Y is the ratio of how many people visit the genius bar compared to calling Apple Care
X is what you call "irrelevant" above.

All three figures are essential to calculate an actual estimate as to the number of iPhone 4 users with reception issues.

Since apple instead quoted 0.55% with the intention of portraying the percentage of iPhone 4 users with reception issues, their figures are misleading.

 

[bergmef]

But it is a poor choice in design, in this detail and from a users perspective. It has at least three sides to choose from, why choose to put it at the very position where it is going to be touched by most users?

Even moving it some few centimeters up would place it in the gap between thumbprint and palm. Some few centimeters down and it would be around on the bottom...

Most of us don't "fingergrease" in the dock connection do we? Couldn't the "dead spot gap" been placed in cohesion with the gap already made for the dock connection?

Or is there a proper, technical reason as to why it must be placed there?

Still looking for a report on that one from designers perspective.

I think I read in an IEEE magazine that the antennas are being put at the bottom of most phones because the radiation testing is being done by the ear piece.

 

[kalsta]

To estimate the ratio we want to find, you need this formula:

X ("iPhone with issue"/"users who report issue") * Y ("users who report issue"/"# calls") * Z ("# calls"/"total iPhones") = G ("iPhone with issue"/"total iPhones")

…

All three figures are essential to calculate an actual estimate as to the number of iPhone 4 users with reception issues.

Not that it really matters, but I don't get the point of your formula Eso. 'Users who report issue' and '# calls' simply cancel themselves out on the left side of the equation, leaving you with the formula:

'iPhone with issue'/'total iPhones' = 'iPhone with issue'/'total iPhones'
​

So you need the data you're trying to 'estimate' in order to err… estimate it.

Unless you have some way of knowing the likely ratio of 'users who report issues via AppleCare'/'users who don't report issues over AppleCare', you're no closer to working anything out using that 0.55% figure. Nice try though.

 

[macsmurf]

This is funny.


Steve Jobs:

We love our users so much we've built 300 apple retail stores for them

Really?!?!? For me?!?!? Well thank you for building a shop where I can drop $2,500 on a computer.

McDonald's love their customers even more

 

[acurafan]

wow, more propaganda form apple. i don't see this fiasco design lasting into the next generation. see you at iphone 5!...next year my bet is iphone 5 will be bigger.

 

[macsmurf]

I just want a couple of those bumpers. It's not every day you can buy a product that bends the laws of physics!

 

[kallisti]

But it can't be good to own a phone that you know has a serious design flaw.

Except that the flaw doesn't impact on me at all. Personally, when holding the phone I never naturally touch the "evil spot." I don't plan on even bothering to get a free case or bumper. The phone works fine for me as a phone. It personally doesn't bother me in the least that it has a design flaw, since that design flaw doesn't impact on my use of the device.

 

[gorgeousninja]

Deep in Jony's lab

A more humorous approach is to think that way way back when the iphone was first being developed some low level labcoat went up to Jony and said 'I noticed the phone might drop signal strength if it's held a certain way' and so he's 'well, will it drop calls?' and they're 'Not unless its a real bad reception area' so Jony's like 'Well this phone is gonna be the hottest, smartest, best featured, phone out there, whose gonna care bout the bars?' .......
me neither ......

 

[kallisti]

Soooo....nothing is being done to solve the problem, just masking it. Wow could have seen that coming. What a great way to shut everyone up by offering them $0.30 covers (sept 30th deadline, come on!)

There are so many idiotic posts in this thread. Forgive me for choosing yours to respond to.

Why do you think nothing further is being done about this issue? I did not get the impression after watching the event that Apple now considers this case closed.

While I can't be certain that continued testing and possible design changes are taking place, I am 99% certain that this is the case. The free bumpers/cases are a holding measure. They need to appease people with a temporary solution while they work on a long-term solution. In the real world, things take time. They need to assess the nature and severity of the issue. Then they need to experiment with different ways to address the problem. Is the design itself basically good, but can they maybe add a layer of coating to the external antenna? What coating to use? How well will it stand up to usage? Will it "rub off" over time? Can an external antenna still work but do they need to change the size or layouts of the external antennas and move the gap to another position that won't be so commonly bridged?

None of these things can happen instantly. Any hardware modification or redesign will require considerable testing to make sure that new problems aren't introduced. Then the manufacturing process has to be retooled to incorporate the changes.

This isn't a serious enough problem by any stretch to make a recall necessary. But a permanent fix will take considerable time to pull off. In the interim they are providing a band-aid for those that are having the issue.

What else do you expect from them?

 

[Eso]

Not that it really matters, but I don't get the point of your formula Eso. 'Users who report issue' and '# calls' simply cancel themselves out on the left side of the equation, leaving you with the formula:

'iPhone with issue'/'total iPhones' = 'iPhone with issue'/'total iPhones'
​

Of course. The concept is that you don't know the value for the right side of the equation, but you know all the terms on the left side. You mutliply them together, and voila!, you can find what you are looking for.

Unless you have some way of knowing the likely ratio of 'users who report issues via AppleCare'/'users who don't report issues over AppleCare', you're no closer to working anything out using that 0.55% figure. Nice try though.

It doesn't matter because the point I was making is that 0.55% is not a measure of the percentage of iPhone 4 users that experience reception issues in the first place.

To get that statistic, you have to include additional terms. Apple didn't do that and tried to pass off the statistic they gave as something it was not.

However, Apple would have an accurate ratio of the number of users who called Apple Care to those that booked Genius appointments. The largest unknown is what percentage of users who experience the issue bothered to contact Apple at all.

To be honest, I would expect this percentage to be very low. With such prolific coverage, why would a person be motivated to report an issue that Apple is already aware of? Why call for tech support on an issue that you have already heard has no solution yet?

In case you were wondering, I would estimate that about 10% of users with issues would take the time to report it to Apple, and that 1 in 5 people would call Apple Care. The rest either book a Genius Bar appointment or post on the support forums. With those numbers in the equation along with Apple's statistic, my estimate for the number of iPhone 4 users with reception issues is 27.5% - 50 times greater than that implied by Apple.

By the way, 0.55% technically can't even be considered as a percentage. A percent must be unit-less. In other words, the top and the bottom must be the same thing.

Their figure is calls/iphone. The proper figure must be iphone/iphone.

 

[dvd4455]

Att return rates

Interesting that they used AT&T return rates over their own data from the apple stores. Unlike the apple stores, Att still charges a restocking fee which discourages a lot of people from returning the device. Steve would have used whichever data made the situation look better so it's apparent that the apple store return rates are probably much higher than AT&T return rates.

 

[TYancy]

Steve not looking so good

Anyone notice how shaky Steve was? He seemed very nervous throughout but I had the impression that he was feeling a bit weak to start with. He is looking very emaciated.

 

[Treefu]

I think I read in an IEEE magazine that the antennas are being put at the bottom of most phones because the radiation testing is being done by the ear piece.

Yes, but I was referring to the placement of the gap and not the antenna itself. That sore "dead spot" of a design oversight placed right where it shouldn't ever have been from the start.

That one less good decision made by the Apple design team that ignited the whole antenna discussion. The one thing surely Apple want to divert all attention away from it seems and this design move is so dumb, it's... it's unspeakable really. Perhaps that's why it's left untouched.

"The iCar - Notice! While seated the brakes may be applied depending on your weight. This is due to the brake pedal now being mounted in the bottom of your seat. It's a non-issue and is normal for all cars made 2010 or later. Have a nice day and enjoy the safer speeds of 20 mph."

I find it hard to believe how Apple of all (phone) manufacturers could not see how moving this out of touch-zone ground zero, as in a few cm up or down could have avoided the whole issue of antenna bridging what-you-may-call-it from the beginning.

This is the really interesting but disastrous move Apple did. Most people and the media just blabbers on about the fallout effect though and not the cause, as I see it...

 

[Treefu]

Anyone notice how shaky Steve was? He seemed very nervous throughout but I had the impression that he was feeling a bit weak to start with. He is looking very emaciated.

I noticed that too and I felt sorry for him personally. It's hard to leave if you love what you do and I think he recognizes the uncertainty that Apple have to deal with if he does.

 

[kallisti]

Interesting that they used AT&T return rates over their own data from the apple stores. Unlike the apple stores, Att still charges a restocking fee which discourages a lot of people from returning the device. Steve would have used whichever data made the situation look better so it's apparent that the apple store return rates are probably much higher than AT&T return rates.

No, you are wrong. In the Q&A it was stated that Apple store return rates were lower than AT&T return rates. To his credit, he actually stated the "worst case scenario" in his presentation.

 

[kalsta]

Of course. The concept is that you don't know the value for the right side of the equation, but you know all the terms on the left side. You mutliply them together, and voila!, you can find what you are looking for.

Nope, sorry. Have a closer look at your formula. Here's a simplified version of what you wrote:
a/c * c/d * d/b = a/b

That's the same as writing:
a/b * c/c * d/d = a/b

Now c/c = 1, and d/d = 1, so your formula just becomes:
a/b = a/b

Not very useful for determining the unknown value of 'a'!

Aaaanyway… The point you were trying to make was valid. The 0.55% figure Apple used is a pretty meaningless number unless (as I said before) you know the likely ratio of 'users who report issues via AppleCare'/'users who don't report issues via AppleCare'. The number sounds small and that's why Apple used it. You and I both know that's called marketing, not mathematics.