They continued to fake it (though not to the same degree) right up to the iPhone 4 when it bit them in the ass by making the antenna gate thing seem worse:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-...
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-...
And yet until the 5s last week, the iPhone 4 was still being sold, and selling like hotcakes. Why no problems without a redesign? It is maybe possible it was that big a deal?