Everything about this Q&A was thoughtful, well-meaning, and heavily considered. And it's true: while the iPhone 4 had ways it could be better, it wasn't materially worse than any of the other phones of its era. A recall would have been ridiculous because that would have required them to have a fix for something the industry at large hadn't yet solved.
And they were extremely measured in their response. If you're unhappy with your cell reception, they were happy to give you a case to improve the situation, no questions asked. If you still weren't happy, they had (and had had, and continue to have) one of the best return policies in the industry. They wanted to you to be happy with your purchase, and if you weren't, they wanted you to be able to get a phone you would be happy with.
Steve Jobs may have been a terrible person in many ways, but one of the good things about him absolutely was his unfailing commitment to his customers.