It ’s been a whirlwind week for tidings about the iPhone 4 ’s feeler suffering . Major medium and companies — from Consumer Reports to David Letterman and Microsoft — have dinged Apple ’s newest smartphone over the antenna problem . On Thursday , Apple release apromisediOS 4.0.1 update to accost at least part of the problem right beforeFriday ’s iPhone 4 crush conference . But untilMacworldcan report from Apple ’s invite - only press event , stave members did some unofficial testing , and AnandTech has anin - depth explanationof the changes Apple made .
iOS 4.0.1 does seem to cover its signal strength more accurately , which is precisely what Apple promise in its letter . It does not , however , solve the signal attenuation job for some users who prevail an iPhone 4 by its lower left corner in an arena with poor reporting . In fact , some users should require to see slightly bad signal strength in some areas — but in a elbow room , that ’s a good matter .
Reporting cell phone signaling speciality is a surprisingly knotty and difficult venture , whichArs Technica explainedin an overview of the practice . Before this update , Apple wrote in itsJuly 2 statement on iPhone signal issues , “ we sometimes display 4 prevention when we should be displaying as few as 2 bars . ” The new , more precise recipe that Apple adopt in iOS 4.0.1 was actually recommended by AT&T to all of its cell phone partners , not just Apple . So far , I have yet to see announcements from other phone manufacturers of their reaction to AT&T ’s new formula or whether they design to adopt it in similar software update .
Eessentially , the changes Apple made in its iOS 4.0.1 update boil down to make the iPhone 4 ( as well as the 3 gravitational constant and 3GS ) more fair — at least when it come to signal intensity level .
For example : in the Chicago neighborhood where I live , my iPhone 4 usually shows five bar even if I find fault it up . Previously , if I maintain it the “ wrong way , ” I could get my signal to drop to just one bar , but I could never entirely stamp out it to the “ Searching … ” mode . With iOS 4.0.1 , I can only get my signal to dismiss to three bars .
Clearly , I be under honest reportage , and the trouble does n’t affect me as much as , say , Macworld ’s editorial director Jason Snell .
“ For me it takes what was a 4 barroom signal in my sleeping room and makes it 3 bars , ” Snell explained . “ When I touch in that bottom get out corner it takes it down to 1 bar , which I believe is what it did before . grapple it the wrong way , and I get no data at all . ”
Senior fellow editor in chief Dan Moren has n’t had much luck either : “ Other than the size of the bar , I ’m not seeing an appreciable difference . ” Dan does n’t get big reception in his Boston apartment to begin with , but he “ can still kill the information signaling by hold my thumb over the bottom left closing . Also , I appear to be able to get call to send packing and , for some numbers , I can just get the intensity to cut out by bridge over the circuit . ”
To infer what Apple actually changed with this software update , I recommend reading , or at least scan , AnandTech ’s thoroughgoing , four - pageinvestigation . In brusk : the signal attenuation problem from holding an iPhone 4 in the left handwriting the “ wrong way ” is still in effect , but the iPhone 4 should be more sensitive to its existent signal performance in those situations .
The real modification Apple made was that it spread out iOS ’s graduated table for measuring , reporting , and acting on its signaling strength . Previously , iOS placed a disproportionate weight on the fifth bar , literally doing what Apple delineate in its letter : When an iPhone 4 ( or 3GS or 3 constant of gravitation , or other headphone , for that thing ) , received a signaling desirable of what is really only three bars ( -87dBm — decibels referenced to 1 milliwatt — or low ) , it was reporting five bar .
Now , under iOS 4.0.1 , the signal range is spread out much more proportionately between the five ginmill . Just as important , though , iOS ’s predisposition for maintaining a call or datum joining at extremely humiliated sign levels was in reality improved passably . antecedently , its drop-off - off limitation was -113 dBm , now it ’s -121 dBm . In AnandTech ’s tests , they were able to advert onto call and data point transfer at the passing dispirited -121 dBm limit of the iPhone 4 ’s receipt room access .
But just as simple mortals can not bend the laws of space and time , a software update like this can not do anything about Apple ’s controversial hardware design option of wrapping what was previously an interior antenna around the outside of the phone . Human flesh is alas a music director of jail cell phone signals , so simply touching the telephone ’s transmitting aerial in any stead ( not just the “ death traveling bag ” region ) results in some illustrious , though not deadly , signal fading .
Of of course , we ’ll have to wait until Apple ’s iPhone 4 press conference on Friday — which you canfollow live — to get wind what will likely be the company ’s net word on this subject . If aWall Street Journalstory is to be believe , a “ personal conversant with the matter ” tell the publication that Apple does not be after to recall the iPhone 4 . Whether you ’re on the fencing about buying an iPhone 4 or return one you already own , Thursday ’s package update , combine with Apple ’s statements on Friday , are sure to provide everything you want to fuck to make an informed decision about whether the iPhone 4 is the right earpiece for you .
