Leaked Docs Show Apple Knows About iPhone 4’s Flaws | Hacker News Reader

Leaked Docs Show Apple Knows About iPhone 4’s Flaws

mashable.com

34 pointsnreece31 comments

The title is misleading. Apple is not admitting to flaws, and the leaked doc doesn't reveal some insider conspiracy. It is simply a document telling their reps how to deal with the complaints that they've been getting. This shouldn't come as a surprise.

Quote from Apple's script:

> "The iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped."

Quote from Anandtech review:

> "I can honestly say that I've never held onto so many calls and data simultaneously on 1 bar at -113 dB as I have with the iPhone 4 ... reception is massively better on the iPhone 4 in actual use... There's no doubt in my mind this iPhone gets the best cellular reception yet."

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2

This could be true. With "less reception" it could still fair well. I wonder if they will provide a software update that simply changes the calculations on what they consider "full bars."

If what right now is 1 bar becomes 5 bars and calls don't get dropped in either case, they have "fixed the problem," which is perception - not performance.

I'm still going to get an Evo when my contract with AT&T runs out.

I totally agree with you there, dhimes.

Today I noticed on my iPhone 3GS that if I hold it in my left hand in certain areas of my house - just like the iPhone 4 "flaw" videos - the signal strength drops from full to only 1 bar.

I only noticed this today, and I've had the phone for a year. This iPhone 4 thing is blown out of proportion.

> In a nutshell, Apple knows the phone has problems but > will insist that users are simply “holding it wrong.”

I think it is a wrong implication from leaked documents.

The problem of Apple is that they always state, that their products are the best on the market. And this is probably true in many aspects. However most people understand "the best" not as "better than others", but as "ideal" or "flawless", which is not true. And this wrong understanding rockets the expectations of customers through the roof, ignoring physics laws etc.

I don't know from what market you're getting your products from, but I've never had a phone that had reception problems when holding it in the left hand.

Of course, I've only used low-end Nokia phones mostly, and smartphones might have problems in general ... but you know, that's why I purchase a phone mostly ... to make phone calls ;)

And when you're paying several hundred dollars on a smartphone, or getting tied up with a multi-year contract with AT&T ... you are expecting that smartphone to make phone calls fucking reliably (even more so than a $15 Nokia phone)

AnandTech showed in their review that cupping the phone caused signal drops on both the iPhone 3GS and the Nexus One too. The drop on the iPhone 4 was larger, certainly, but it didn't drop the call.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review/2

It seems like this 'dropped call' thing is mainly a US thing also though. Most of the blame must surely rest with the carriers.

Galvanic skin response varies from person to person, wildly in some cases. I haven't seen this addressed in the various iPhone 4 antenna analyses so far, though I've probably just missed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03PQyWp0mWE

It seems rather obvious that for any given phone, there is a way to ruin it's reception. If nothing helps, put it in a steel box, encase it with concrete and throw it into the ocean. That should do the job.

The real question is, how is the reception in a typical phone call situation.

Do you have iPhone which has reception problems when holding it in the left hand? Holding phone specific way may cause signal drop, iPhone or not: http://funsizebytes.com/post/745721120/instructions-from-my-...

The thing is that there is always some negative buzz after each release of a new Apple product. Maybe this time it's something new, a real issue -- I don't know, since I don't have the new iPhone.

But if make induction on the past, then this is just another exaggerated 'fact of life'.

Actually; I have.

A number of my past phones (particularly Nokia's) had reception issues when held.

Odd.

There's still demand for the Nokia 1100 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_1100 ) due to its almost legendary reliability and reception (anecdotal evidence says that it works better than any other brand phones in the Uruguayan countryside).

The Wikipedia article states that it is the best selling consumer device in the world (and handset of course).

I never had a 1100.

Off hand... I had 3310 (x3), 3210, 1208, 1600, N81

> "I've only used low-end Nokia phones mostly..."

Like the Nokia 2320 with the instruction manual that says you shouldn't hold it like that?

http://funsizebytes.com/post/745721120/instructions-from-my-...

There are no reported reception problems when just casually holding the iPhone 4 in your left hand, either.

Well, I can report from the high end Nokia user side (9300, > 5 years old, changed battery, still in great shape).

It very rarely drops calls and I never had a reason to suspect that it makes a difference how you hold it.

Oh come on now. Nobody expects perfection even from Apple. But we do expect them to have tested the product and fixed the issue before it went to production. A simple lining over the antenna would have sufficed. This episode just illustrates Apple's design hubris.

So you are saying that all other phones had these reception issues all along, and only with the "perfect" iPhone people are starting to notice?

I might be wrong, but yes it looks to me exactly like this. No one cared about the same issues on the Nexus One phone.

It's just a repost of Boy Genius Report article that was already posted on HN, but with more linkbaity title.

The title is beyond linkbait and well into the realm of utterly misleading. It's annoying, because had the title accurately described this as Apple's customer relations script for dealing with iPhone issues, I would have skipped by it.

Agreed. I'm guessing they also have a script that tells AppleCare technicians how to handle people complaining that their screen got scratched really easily. That doesn't mean that they are snowing people about screen durability flaws they "know about."

This isn't going to go anywhere.

People (myself included) have been bitching about the iPhones reception issues since the first release. It hasn't stopped apple from selling millions of them.

Personally I was on the fence about switching to a new carrier and android but I broke down and got a new iPhone. I have some regrets already, it's still not the perfect phone. But nothing is, it's fast, shiny, and reception is noticeably better for me so far. Though AT&T in SF still seems oversubscribed.

I'd wager that the most vocal people here don't have iPhone 4s, they just want to poke Apple in the eye.

On a case by case basis there will be people who have reception problems. It does appear there are manufacturing effects that make this more visible. But there's not going to be a class action lawsuit. Just more people who own an iPhone and wish it was better for one reason or another.

I was on the fence about switching to android but broke down and got an

Is this what journalism has sunk to?

But the very fact that this document exists suggests that Apple execs know there is indeed a widespread hardware flaw, even if they’re unwilling to address it publicly at this time.

Becomes (paraphrased) "document shows that" in the title...

EDIT: the class action lawsuit is amusing. sheesh.

I've tried (firmly) cupping my iPhone 3GS in my hand, both in my left and in my right, and in either position I lose up to four bars (in a place where I have very strong reception).

How does it affect actual performance, i.e. dropped calls? Do you hold your phone that way usually? If not, is there a problem when you hold it the usual way?

There is no such thing as dropped calls in Sweden — iPhone or not (mostly a US phenomenon, I think).

And no, I don't usually hold it that way, I just wanted to see how/if it affected the 3GS as well.

I think this response plan by apple is appropriate because a) the bar dropping is as much a software problem which will be fixed and does not reflect accurately on the actual antenna capacity b) it _is_ a fact of life with built-in antennas and there is no noticeable problem with the iphone call quality compared to other phones, in fact I have not seen any call quality problems, quite the opposite. I'm not on the AT&T network though.

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