Apple apologists can suck it! CR no longer recommends iPhone 4 due to reception issue

[NFS4]

Anand has spoken!

I can’t stress enough that this issue impacts all users. The variability is in how strong of a signal you have to begin with. That’s the absolute only reason there’s debate in these discussions from phone to phone. At my desk I don’t get great reception on AT&T. With the iPhone 4 I’m usually at -96dBm. If I keep a tight grip on the phone or if I’m holding it to send text messages I can sometimes lose all signal entirely. This is a combination of poor reception at my house and the fact that the 4 loses more of its signal than other phones when held certain ways.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix/1

 

[Zebo]

Have you read the thread, at all?

Yup I just worded it different. What you guys think 11 million this quarter?

 

[jman19]

Yup I just worded it different. What you guys think 11 million this quarter?

I dunno.

Honestly I am about to get an iPhone 4 - but am waiting to hear what this announcement is about. Hopefully it is a fix - would rather get a device without a design flaw, regardless of the impact.

 

[charrison]

All these people (not just you but nearly everyone in these threads who is spouting off about it) who don't even own an iPhone should just STFU. Patranus is 100% correct, I don't know anybody personally who has this problem. When you sell 5+ million units in less then a month, yea its going to look like a huge problem. Nothing in the history of consumer electronics has sold this fast or been in the face of the media this much.

You might want to read what I have actually said on the topic before you just say I am spouting off.

Yes the Iphone does appear to have a problem. And so far the biggest problem is the PR in handling of the problem.

As I said the problem does not affect everyone equally( for a variety of reasons), but it has been replicated by anand and cr. The problem is real and neither party had to go hunting for a bad fun. IF this problem only affect 10% of the users, by your numbers there are about 500k unhappy customers.

 

[Zebo]

I dunno.

Honestly I am about to get an iPhone 4 - but am waiting to hear what this announcement is about. Hopefully it is a fix - would rather get a device without a design flaw, regardless of the impact.

Go get a evo and a couple xtra batteries then and buy dickies baggy pants.

Seriously bro all phones have issue. It's just what you value most. For me as bumper is no brainier even before reception issues due to glass and Z is clumsy. Everything else is perfect for my needs, especially all day continuous battery life which no smart phone has.

Only reason apples issue is huge in mind is because everyone is piling on like they did on MS when they were king.

 

[NFS4]

Woz is having reception problems too:

http://www.tuaw.com/2010/07/15/woz-having-reception-problems-too/

 

[Zargon]

Go get a evo and a couple xtra batteries then and buy dickies baggy pants.

Seriously bro all phones have issue. It's just what you value most. For me as bumper is no brainier even before reception issues due to glass and Z is clumsy. Everything else is perfect for my needs, especially all day continuous battery life which no smart phone has.

Only reason apples issue is huge in mind is because everyone is piling on like they did on MS when they were king.

or because they wont own up to the problem till its shoved in their face 100 times.

my curve last all day easy, but its not that smart of a phone

 

[Zebo]

or because they wont own up to the problem till its shoved in their face 100 times.

my curve last all day easy, but its not that smart of a phone

hehe good old days.. My i580 you could go swimming with, throw against a wall as hard as you could, last 1 week, 2 week with extended battery and talk in the sticks with better than any other phone I ever owned due to whip antenna. But it was not a smart phone.

 

[NFS4]

Go get a evo and a couple xtra batteries then and buy dickies baggy pants.

Seriously bro all phones have issue. It's just what you value most. For me as bumper is no brainier even before reception issues due to glass and Z is clumsy. Everything else is perfect for my needs, especially all day continuous battery life which no smart phone has.

Only reason apples issue is huge in mind is because everyone is piling on like they did on MS when they were king.

I actually have an EVO 4G and it DOESN'T have the reception problems that my iPhone 4 has in the same places.

I'm reviewing the EVO 4G alongside my iPhone 4, so I take it just about everywhere with me. While I can get maybe one bar to drop on the EVO 4G by gripping it closely, I cannot get it to drop calls or kill off internet speeds like I can with my iPhone 4.

 

[Zebo]

I actually have an EVO 4G and it DOESN'T have the reception problems that my iPhone 4 has in the same places.

I'm reviewing the EVO 4G alongside my iPhone 4, so I take it just about everywhere with me. While I can get maybe one bar to drop on the EVO 4G by gripping it closely, I cannot get it to drop calls or kill off internet speeds like I can with my iPhone 4.

Never said it had recpetion issues. I said it was a brick and sucks batteries like Jenna's vibrators.

 

[Zebo]

Anand has spoken!



http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix/1

Not all - Problem is being fixed permanently like I said and been saying for weeks. One of Apples vendors screwed up and forgot to apply non conductive coating over models.

http://www.gadgetsdna.com/the-iphone-4-antenna-problem-silently-fixed/4664/

 

[zerocool84]

If that was the case than EVERY iPhone 4 would suffer from the antenna issue which we know isn't the case.

If you’re keeping tabs you’ll note that this is what is traditionally referred to as a trade off. Apple opted for good performance in low signal situations (and style of course) over maintaining consistently better or unchanged radio performance compared to the 3GS. I would personally consider this to be an unnecessarily risky design choice, particularly for a smartphone vendor.

I can’t stress enough that this issue impacts all users. The variability is in how strong of a signal you have to begin with. That’s the absolute only reason there’s debate in these discussions from phone to phone. At my desk I don’t get great reception on AT&T. With the iPhone 4 I’m usually at -96dBm. If I keep a tight grip on the phone or if I’m holding it to send text messages I can sometimes lose all signal entirely. This is a combination of poor reception at my house and the fact that the 4 loses more of its signal than other phones when held certain ways.

Brian on the other hand has much better reception at his home. To him, the signal strength drops but it does not drop enough for this to be a problem. I consider myself to be on the border. If I’m mindful of how I’m holding the phone it’s not an issue, and even most of the time if I’m not paying attention to it it’s not an issue. However there are definitely times when it does become a problem. I wouldn’t consider it to be the majority of the time or even more than 10% of the time, but it happens enough for me to have to think about it. Ultimately this is why I consider Apple’s design here to be unnecessarily risky. Introducing a change with stylistic and technical benefits where the downside is limited but potentially very noticeable is just ballsy.

This is why not everyone is having the "issue". If you're in a place with great reception, it'll drop the signal but not low enough for it to make a difference but if you are in a place where signal isn't already that great, it affects you.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix

 

[James Bond]

I have yet to meet anyone who does NOT have the problem. I do.

If you have really good reception, then covering the antenna will not cause you to lose bars, although the reception is still dropping the same amount.

 

[charrison]

Not all - Problem is being fixed permanently like I said and been saying for weeks. One of Apples vendors screwed up and forgot to apply non conductive coating over models.

http://www.gadgetsdna.com/the-iphone-4-antenna-problem-silently-fixed/4664/

They did not forget, it was just not done. If they would have just forgot, it would not have passed QA.

 

[Zebo]

Yeah right Charrison like China drywall, baby foods etc. China is QC nightmare.

 

[charrison]

Yeah right Charrison like China drywall, baby foods etc. China is QC nightmare.

The people you contract to make your stuff should not be performing the QA. That is hiring the fox to guard the hen house. Apple botched this one.

 

[AMDZen]

Anand has spoken!



http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix/1

Anand also confirms what I was saying about the 3GS suffering from the same issue, even though you had vehemently denied this when I brought this up earlier in the thread. That your wife's didn't have an issue even after I posted the same proof. Maybe you're wife is smart enough to have a case?

The fact is, every iPhone has probably had this problem and we are just now blowing it out of proportion because the iPhone 4 is worse. However the iPhone 4 actually holds onto calls better with a lower signal which is why some of us (like me) see this as a non issue.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix/2

Signal strength is sometimes the same as or worse than the iPhone 3GS. This is really where the problem comes into play. In the shot below I have the 4 and 3GS sitting next to one another and they are displaying roughly the same signal strength. We’ve already proven that holding the iPhone 4 attenuates its signal more than the 3GS, which results in the frustration we’ve seen expressed by many at this point. In situations where the 4 has the same signal as the 3GS, holding the phone is going to drop it to levels significantly worse than the 3GS. If you’re in an area with low signal strength to begin with, holding the phone is going to bring you down to dangerously low levels.

The iPhone 4 is better at holding onto calls and data at very low signal levels. We’ve mentioned this one before but it’s worth reiterating. The new antenna does let me make calls and transmit data at very low signal strength. With the iOS 4.0.1 update I was able to make a call at -115dB on the 3GS, however the call did drop within a minute of starting it. By comparison I was able to have a much longer conversation without dropping the call at -120dB on the 4. By no means is this a scientific comparison, but anecdotally both Brian and I feel that the low signal strength performance of the iPhone 4 is better than the 3GS.