In a hastily-announced press conference at Apple’s headquarters, CEO Steve Jobs discussed the reported antenna problems affecting the iPhone 4.
“We started getting reports about issues with the antenna system, and, the problems they were saying… Gizmodo put their video on the web, touching the corner, and people were seeing a large drop in bars.”
He said, “We are an engineering company, and we want to find out what the real problem is. We’ve been working our butts off so we can come up with real solutions.”
The solution, according to Jobs, is to award free cases to users who buy the iPhone 4 before September. He noted the case is not a bumper, which specifically addresses the antenna issue because “we can’t make the bumpers quick enough.”
iPhone 4 users will be able to choose from a variety of free cases, Jobs assured.
Customers who want to return the iPhone can get a full refund, with no restocking fee, Jobs added. “We want every user to be happy — and if we can’t make ‘em happy, we’ll give them a full refund.”
Jobs has a pet theory on the receptions problems. “When the 3GS came out, we didn’t change the design from the 3G. So there were already lots of cases out there for the phone. And more than 80 percent of new buyers left the store with a case. Now the new phone doesn’t fit those cases, and we can’t make these bumpers fast enough, so only 20 percent leave the store with a case… but we’re going to figure it out.”
He also mentioned the iPhone 4 will be available in Canada and 17 other countries on July 30.
Jobs dropped a statistic that may surprise some tech news followers: the percentage of iPhone 4 users who called the AppleCare reps to complain about reception problems was a measly 0.55 percent.
What about iPhone 4’s return rate? Only 1.7 percent, less than a third of the 3GS returns, Jobs told the audience.
He also addressed drop call rates,pointing to data he received from AT&T. He found the iPhone 4 drops less than one additional call per 100 than the iPhone 3GS, although he didn’t reveal specific numbers.
Jobs said Apple didn’t trust what other YouTube videos were purported to show so the tech company started to do its own tests. In the press conference, Jobs showed stills of Apple engineers testing various grips on other smartphones, such as the BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Droid Eris. Jobs said the same behaviour seen on the iPhone 4’s antenna also affects other phones. When the Droid Eris is gripped on its left side, Jobs noted, “It starts off with 4 bars… and the time it takes for the bars to go down has to do with the algorithm… so it goes down to zero bars, and then it goes back up.”
Every phone has its weaknesses, he stressed. “Most smartphones take a hit exactly the same way. These were all tested in areas of relatively weak signal strength. This is life in the smartphone world. Phones aren’t perfect. It’s a challenge for the whole industry.”
Jobs said Apple was “stunned and upset and embarrassed” by Consumer Reports saying it wouldn’t recommend customers buy the iPhone 4. “And the reason we didn’t say more is because we didn’t know enough. If we’d have done this event a week and a half ago, we wouldn’t have had half the data we have today.”
In the Q&A session, Jobs told reporters Apple won’t rule out making any hardware changes for future iPhone 4s. ” I don’t know what our next antenna design will be — maybe our wizards in the antenna lab will come up with something better. But looking at the data, we don’t think we have a problem.”
When asked if Apple would offer an apology to investors, Job said, “To those investors who bought the stock and are down by $5, I have no apology.”
A reporter from Engadget asked Apple about a New York Times story claiming reception problems could be fixed with a software fix. Jobs didn’t seem to take kindly to the question, replying, “We just spent the last hour going through how the iPhone 4 drops only one more call per hundred than the 3GS. … Go talk to the Times, because you guys talk to yourselves a lot, and they’re just making this stuff up.”
