I really appreciate Apple’s honesty when it came to this press conference, which was backed by real acquired data. TUAW and The Next Web have put Apple’s figures into perspective, so let’s review.
The antenna lab Apple designed to test the iPhone 4 costs 100 million dollars. According to Apple, “These labs feature 17 different antenna characterization chambers (or anechoic chambers) designed to accurately measure antenna and wireless performance.” 18 PhD scientists and engineers tested the iPhone 4’s antenna design.
Steve Jobs claimed that of all the iPhone 4 customers, only 0.55% contacted AppleCare concerning the Antenna issue. That’s roughly 16,500 customers with iPhone 4s compared to the 3,000,000 other owners who also purchased a device within the first three weeks. Jobs also mentioned he’d fix the proximity sensor issue some are also having trouble with.
Only 1.7 percent of all iPhone 4s purchased were returned to AT&T since the initial release, which amounts to 51,000 returns. In comparison, 6 percent of iPhone 3GS models were returned during its launch.
AT&T reports that the iPhone 4 drops less than one more call per 100 than the iPhone 3GS. While more calls are dropped, it’s not by a large enough amount to dictate any serious problem. The percentage increase is very slim.
Apple will revaluate this data on September 30th, and decide whether or not they want to continue their current plans to refund or provide free bumpers to customers.
These are the numbers. Apple has made their stance, and they’ve confirmed what we presumed all along: the media (Gizmodo being called out in the opening video) has overblown a relatively simple issue. To make customers happy, Apple will provide free bumpers and a choice of third party cases. If you don’t like it, you can totally get that refund.
[via Apple, TUAW, and The Next Web]
