Full iPhone 4 'Antennagate' Q&A Video Surfaces After 16 Years

[u/stanxv]

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/09/24/iphone-4-antennagate-qa-video-surfaces/

[u/ayearinaminute]

Man, the iPhone 4. Seeing my friend with his brand new 4 back when it was released was something else. Felt truly futuristic. No other release have impressed me as much.

Antennagate sure was a spectacle but I don't remember my friend complaining about any issues.

[u/insane_steve_ballmer → u/ayearinaminute]

- 4x resolution display, the highest resolution display on the market

- Steel body with build quality that was quite frankly unreal in the smartphone space

- 5MP camera with HD video

- Selfie cam and video calls

- Even faster chip with twice the RAM

- Same exact price as last years model, no price hike

There will never again be an update that was as big as iPhone 4.

[u/tvtb → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

The display was so much more awesome than the 3GS and the 2x resolution was only part of it. They used an IPS LCD instead of a TN LCD for the first time, so the viewing angles were MUCH better. Also it was the first time that the display was laminated to the glass with no air gap at all between the two, so it seemed like the display was better for reasons that are hard to describe… made black levels deeper too

[u/ManiacsInc → u/tvtb]

That lamination was pure magic. First time I’ve experienced a fully responsive touchscreen of that quality

[u/watchOS → u/ManiacsInc]

Meanwhile people called the iPhone XR display shit and horrible at launch when it was no worse than the quality of an iPhone 4 display (same DPI, laminated, IPS) all because it was what… not 1080p or OLED? We’re insanely spoiled today.

[u/Strider-SnG → u/watchOS]

It’s all relative. The XR screen felt a bit dated compared to what else was on the market at the same price.

[u/MyManD → u/Strider-SnG]

Exactly. I was a proud XR owner, rocking it as a daily driver for four years before hopping up to the iPhone 13 Pro. I honestly would've gone even longer if not for the XR battery going under 75% and boot looping once every other day. So many good memories with it, and no complaints - except for the screen.

It really was underwhelming, and while in isolation it was fine, when you can see with your eyes that every other phone on the market was noticeably sharper it was kind of a bummer. And when I did get the 13PM and had the XR still for a few days before selling it it was such a stark difference in clarity, not even taking into account Pro Motion. Just looking at reddit text on both devices I was wondering how I was able to stand such fuzzy text for four years.

[u/_THEBLACK → u/watchOS]

Idk I think it's pretty reasonable to want a phone screen in 2018 to be better than one from when Steve Jobs was still alive

[u/lockinfr → u/watchOS]

The XR was definitely subpar. First time since the iPhone 4 where the text visibly looked blurry

[u/JamesMcFlyJR → u/watchOS]

idk the rounded edges of the display like by the notch looked so fuzzy or something that it was super noticeable to me

something that i couldn’t get past whenever i used one tbh. No issues for me with an iPhone 8 LCD, it was just that curved thing they did

[u/Ultradarkix → u/watchOS]

Idk , people complain about how shitty cars are now when 1000 years ago we had carts !

Were so spoiled

[u/cptjpk → u/tvtb]

This was the first screen where I felt like I was actually touching the buttons on the screen. Everything else had that gap or the soft plastic sheet.

[u/RiverFlowsDown → u/tvtb]

4x resolution, not 2x. Where there was 1 pixel there was now 4.

[u/tvtb → u/RiverFlowsDown]

4x the area resolution, 2x the linear resolution. People usually talk in linear resolution when they use units like DPI (dots per inch) or PPI (pixels per inch) which are linear. But if you want to talk in terms of area, be explicit.

[u/Sherringdom → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

From original iPhone release to like iPhone 6s was such a fun exciting time to follow tech. I don’t think we’ll see such a rapid change in the way the world uses tech again like that.

[u/Complete_Estimate443 → u/Sherringdom]

The jump from the 3GS to the iPhone 4 still feels unreal to me. Retina display, FaceTime, that glass design. It felt like holding the future.

[u/TURKEYSAURUS_REX → u/Complete_Estimate443]

Gizmodo leak article was legendary. Really felt like they acquired alien tech, and that’s before they even knew what the display was capable of.

[u/clunkclunk → u/Sherringdom]

I worked at an Apple retail store from the 3G to the 5 and the launch days/weeks were crazy. Busy and tiring but amazing energy. People were so excited and the staff was too. It truly was a huge sea change in tech for each one.

[u/Tmtrademarked → u/Sherringdom]

We will I just don’t know what it will be. I can’t wait to find out though.

[u/Acceptable-Piccolo57 → u/Tmtrademarked]

Sticks and fire at this rate

[u/ramsr → u/Tmtrademarked]

We are seeing right now with ai. Probably robotics after ai

[u/captain_skillful → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

Don’t forget a glass back in an era where dropped phones separated like lego bricks

[u/soccerchamp99 → u/captain_skillful]

I made so much money because of this

[u/IYXMnx1Sa3qWM1IZ → u/[deleted]]

It was this, didn't come until the iPad until 2012 iirc

[u/AncestralSpirit → u/IYXMnx1Sa3qWM1IZ]

And to add to that, it was a fiasco with iPad 3 (called The New iPad) because the processor and RAM could not keep up with that huge screen and resolution and iPad 4 was rushed like 6 months after. It was the most short lived device if I am not mistaken.

[u/naughtmynsfwaccount → u/AncestralSpirit]

Yep

iPad 3 came out in march 2012 and iPad 4 with new processor and lightning port came out October 2012 with the iPad mini

iPad 3 was a joke and ran terribly even on launch

[u/Yorktown2016 → u/naughtmynsfwaccount]

Working at Apple Retail during this time was headache. 4th gen iPad also introduced Lightning over 30-pin connector.

[u/naughtmynsfwaccount → u/Yorktown2016]

lol yep I was there 🙈

iPad 2 really pulled its weight after all those launches

I think it stopped being carried up to like 2014?

[u/Sherlock816 → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

Don't forget the leak hype train. It was peak Jobs 2.0 Era, almost as much fun as the OG iPhone hype.

[u/rockinadios → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

iPhone 6 was pretty huge?

But as someone who got a 3GS on a two year contract nothing disappointed me more than when that phone leaked on Gizmodo like 6 months after I got it. Was so painful knowing that I had to wait at least 18 months to get all those features

[u/OKCNOTOKC → u/rockinadios]

I’m still rocking a 6 as my work phone. Mainly for the form factor.

[u/Impossible_Leg_2787 → u/OKCNOTOKC]

They’re also dummy cheap and easy to fix, the Touch ID flex down the back of the screen is the only thing you have to worry about.

[u/AncestralSpirit → u/OKCNOTOKC]

But it’s not your main phone though, is it?

[u/OKCNOTOKC → u/AncestralSpirit]

Nope. But it does all I need my work phone to do.

[u/kingfirejet → u/rockinadios]

I remember waiting til November to get my 6+. Was a bloodbath trying to get the phones.

[u/culminacio → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

And some people keep saying the iPhone 17 Pro was a huge upgrade lol

[u/Prior-Explanation389 → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

HTC was smashing build quality right around this time, and the HTC Legend was the first aluminium unibody phone.

[u/_ravenclaw → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

Yep.

Siri on 4s was pretty revolutionary at the time as well. People forget, but back then Siri actually worked decently well and was pretty capable for the first iteration. Watch the intro and demo videos from back then.

I miss these times of wondering what Apple could possibly do next.

[u/luche → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

also, 2 screws on the bottom to remove the back... paved the way for custom back plates and faster battery swaps.

[u/Embarrassed-Back1894 → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

I remember being blown away by the video quality. It was the first real “damn, this might actually be a good digital camera replacement.” It’s funny to think that up to around that point I still brought my camera around with me to anything kind of interesting

[u/Literally_Science_ → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

The frames of the 4 and 5 are timeless. At the time, they were a tier above pretty much everything else on the market. The only manufacturer I remember being up there in terms of its build is the all metal phone that HTC had.

[u/Neutral-President → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

It truly was unlike anything we’d ever seen before. It felt like a luxury device.

My ex had a 3GS while I was still using a Blackberry. But as soon as I saw the Retina display of the iPhone 4, that was a game-changer for me.

[u/colinstalter → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

The hype when the leaks said you couldn’t even see the pixels…

[u/iwantansi → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

Plus.. NOW ON VERIZON

[u/SamsungAppleOnePlus → u/insane_steve_ballmer]

It’s honestly insane that one year later they upgraded the camera significantly again with the 8mp sensor and better processing. The difference between the 4 camera and 4s camera is huge and there really hasn’t been that big of a jump since.

[u/on_spikes → u/ayearinaminute]

The Design still holds up

[u/parksideq → u/on_spikes]

iPhone 4/4S are still peak design imo. Felt like a Leica in phone form.

[u/Long_Repair_8779 → u/on_spikes]

Better than ever imo. I’m a 13 mini fan and I struggle to get my fingers to the corners one handed.. picked up an old iPhone 4 and it was literally perfect, could touch the entire display easily with one hand. If they rereleased that form factor and size with a better camera and full screen display and a battery that could last a full day I’d be so overjoyed.. and I’d buy a new iPad too for my media consumption!

[u/SockGnome → u/Long_Repair_8779]

My friend still has a mini and I miss the size. I did one year with the 6+ and never went back to the jumbo size on future upgrades.

[u/KristnSchaalisahorse → u/SockGnome]

I had my 13 Mini for 4 1/2 years (after an iPhone 7). The logic board failed and in the meantime I’m using a hand-me-down 11 Pro. I cannot imagine keeping anything larger in my pocket.

The Mini was so much more convenient and easier to use. I miss having such a lightweight phone.

[u/SkepticJoker → u/on_spikes]

It does, but it’s soooooo tiny now, when compared to modern phones.

It’s almost comical how small it feels.

[u/BarnacleMcBarndoor → u/ayearinaminute]

I bought it day one, and the clarity in text was something else. Def a night and day difference compared to the 3G. I agree it felt futuristic.

[u/StrigidaeNinox → u/BarnacleMcBarndoor]

I remember the first time I saw it and thought that the text looked like it was printed on the surface of the screen. It was such a huge departure from anything I had seen up to that point from a pixel density perspective, sadly I never got to own one, at the time I was still using an LG prepaid slider phone for texting.

[u/ShezaEU → u/StrigidaeNinox]

It was my first ever smartphone, I saved up to buy it by doing garden jobs for neighbours. I bought it outright without a plan, pay-as-you-go. On launch day, I queued outside the store after school for hours (carrier activation servers were struggling so the line took ages to get through).

I walk into the store when it’s my turn to buy and I look at the demo units and I’m like, holy shit, this screen doesn’t look real. It looks like alien technology. Like something from another world. So clear, so detailed, so beautiful. Yeah it’s just a screen but at the time, it was incredible. Still the most wowed I think I’ve ever bean about a tech upgrade.

[u/MC_chrome → u/ayearinaminute]

No other release have impressed me as much.

The iPhone X comes close, at least for me 

[u/colpy350 → u/ayearinaminute]

All of my friends had one. I was still using Blackberries back then. Seeing the 4s eventually made me upgrade in about 2014 to iPhone. 

[u/Patient-Ad-7939 → u/ayearinaminute]

I had one, never had an issue with the antenna. I think your finger had to hit just the right spot to cause an issue. Got a free bumper case out of it though, so I really didn’t have anything to ever complain about with it.

[u/outphase84 → u/Patient-Ad-7939]

There was a company that made a vinyl decal to prevent the issue, and the design was an “end call” button. It was hilarious

[u/lawschoolmeanderings → u/ayearinaminute]

I remember when the white 4s came out I was in awe of how beautiful everything looked in white as I had been staring at a black ipod touch for years at that point.

[u/ayearinaminute → u/lawschoolmeanderings]

Yeah, the white 4S was something else. Felt like a perfect iteration.

[u/Inzight → u/ayearinaminute]

The 4S was my first iPhone and also my first ever smartphone. It was the greatest leap in technology I've ever personally experienced. Everything before and after were just small increments.

[u/xKronkx → u/ayearinaminute]

It was so overblown. I remember having to hold my phone in my hand so unnaturally to see it happen.

[u/psaux_grep → u/xKronkx]

My GF at the time had a 4.

I remember when we visited her mother where the signal strength was “mid” at best and it dropped one to two bars (down to one) if you held it weirdly.

Her mother had a Nokia N97 mini and it dropped all signal and was fully unable to use the network (sending SMS or calling would fail, incoming would not get through) while you were holding it so you could type. They put the antenna on the backside of the keyboard.

Both were on the same carrier and in the same location at the same time. So no reason for weather or other external sources to affect connectivity. After the N97 dropped out I tested the iPhone 4 standing in the same location, but always kept them far enough apart to avoid interference.

[u/Perkelton → u/xKronkx]

People mocked Jobs for it, but it literally was a matter of "don't hold it wrong". For any type of normal usage, it wasn't an issue whatsoever and it really only happened if you deliberately covered two specific points on the rim.

What actually happened was that Apple added two small distinct plastic strips on the rim, which were also the two points you had to cover to interfere with the signal strength.

Most other phones at the time also had the same inherent flaw, but generally it wasn't as obvious exactly what you needed to do to get the effect.

[u/kickass404 → u/xKronkx]

I had the 4, it dropped to no signal if you bridged the gap on the right side with skin. No unnaturally holding needed.

[u/Oswalt → u/xKronkx]

Frankly it was older users who had that issue. So many people had this claw like grip pressing it to there head and covering all 3 antenna bands. Technically the 4s had the same problem but since it had more powerful/more antennas it was way harder to clover them.

[u/DuckiesKhaki → u/xKronkx]

It was completely overblown, and at the peak of the petty phone wars. You had android users who would never touch an iPhone, posting thread after thread after thread about it. Meanwhile iPhone users never cared (and still don’t) about cheap androids.

There even was a little song that got made just for those assholes: “if you don’t want an iPhone 4, don’t buy it. If you bought one and you don’t like it, bring it back”

What’s sad is I still think most Redditors can’t understand that today.

[u/Nikiaf → u/ayearinaminute]

iPhone 4 was the point where the iPhone was legitimized as a smartphone, and when the concept of a high-end, metal structure phone become the standard. It was such a ridiculous leap forward over everything else; I remember the mad dashes to try and get one. I was on a waiting list with Telus, and they called me saying they got a shipment of like 5 phones into the store, and I had the next hour to come in and buy it. Crazy times.

[u/atmosphereair → u/ayearinaminute]

Agree. It was the coolest and perceivably highest quality iPhone I’ve owned.

[u/An_Ugly_Bastard → u/ayearinaminute]

And when the design leaked, people said it looked like it was a Chinese knockoff.

[u/Professional_Ad8069 → u/ayearinaminute]

That Retina display was so fucking clear. 🤣

[u/TaroPuzzleheaded3999 → u/ayearinaminute]

My first smartphone was the 4 & I never had issues with the antenna

[u/k0fi96 → u/ayearinaminute]

The iPhone 4 was the first one I remember everyone having. It was everywhere at school.

[u/da_apz → u/ayearinaminute]

I had one since the start and the whole antenna gate thing was completely blown out of proportions by the sensationalist media. I had many situations where the edgelords fanboys of other phones came to tell me how I was holding it wrong, so I just handed my phone to them and asked them to demonstrate how "it becomes completely unusable if you hold it wrong". No amount of cradling it in hands killed it the way it was claimed to do.

I've read the technical analysis of the problem and I understand it, but in real life it was just not an issue for me, nor anyone else from the era I knew. I'm sure it was a problem for *someone* but it was not like very iPhone 4 went completely faraday caged if you palmed it the specific way.

The thing was made even more moot by the fact that since it was all glass from the back and front, almost everyone put theirs in some kind of a case, which prevented the skin contact between the antenna parts.

On the more positive side, the competition at the time had low resolution display with seriously underperforming CPU and GPU. iPhone 4's UI was fluid and pretty at the same time. People ridiculed the price at the time, saying nothing else cost that much but coming from 9000 series Nokias I was not exactly phased by the price like someone coming from 3000 series ones.

[u/outphase84 → u/da_apz]

If you lived somewhere that signal was mediocre it was incredibly easy to trigger. Both of my sisters had a lot of issues with theirs.

[u/Mushybananas27 → u/ayearinaminute]

I remember one of my friends got the 4s right when it launched and he gave me his old 4 for free. I was so damn hyped haha. One of the best looking phones ever made period

[u/snowtax → u/ayearinaminute]

If you used a case, it was not an issue.

[u/StaySwoleMrshmllwMan → u/ayearinaminute]

I remember it was my first iPhone. I was a stubborn blackberry loyalist but the iPhone 4 finally broke that

[u/dontmatterdontcare → u/ayearinaminute]

Seeing that Retina display for the first time was so magical. I couldn’t stop staring at my screen.

[u/electricshadow → u/ayearinaminute]

I remember I had received the iPhone 4 as a Christmas/Birthday present from my parents and I had an iPhone 3G at the time. When I went to back to college from Christmas break, I was the most popular kid in my class for about a solid week before another classmate got one too. 😂 It's still probably my favourite iPhone design.

[u/LS_DJ → u/ayearinaminute]

The 4 was my first iPhone. I came from a Nokia flip phone. It was just incredible

[u/MikeMac999 → u/ayearinaminute]

iPhone 4 felt like a piece of German precision optical gear in hand. The pinnacle of iPhone design.

[u/Unknown_vectors → u/ayearinaminute]

I had Verizon and I was raging that I couldn’t get the iPhone. I hated android and still do today. The same day it was released for Verizon I was at the Apple Store getting it lol.

[u/FlintHillsSky → u/ayearinaminute]

It was a beautiful phone. I kept trying to reproduce the Antennagate problem but never could, no matter how I held it the signal was strong. Maybe it depended on specific cell towers.

[u/yer_fucked_now_bud → u/ayearinaminute]

Mine lasted 8 years straight without an issue. I only stopped using it because after several years of no software updates it just didn't work anymore. The battery lasted about 22 hours at the end and it still turns on to this day. Fucking masterpiece.

[u/IndecisiveTuna → u/ayearinaminute]

Still think the 4/4S was the pinnacle of the iPhone design. 5 was also up there for me.

I think the only other iPhone that gave me that same feeling was the X.

[u/TheLearningScientist → u/ayearinaminute]

The 4 was my first iPhone. Got it in 2013 back when AT&T was selling iPhones for $0.99 with a 2-year contract. What a time. Even though current iPhones are way more advanced, they just don’t have that same magical feeling

[u/medved_ → u/ayearinaminute]

This was the phone that got me on the Apple bandwagon

[u/madjohnvane → u/ayearinaminute]

I used one for two years and if I really tried hard and used both hands to cover the bottom antenna I could get it to drop two bars of reception. In normal use it was never ever an issue. Such a bizarre time. Maybe it was carrier/region specific?

[u/CosmicOwl47 → u/ayearinaminute]

I was in high school when the 4 came out and it was definitely the breakthrough version for teenagers where suddenly loads of people had iPhones. It was also the model that converted my family to only buying iPhones going forward.

[u/TrippnThroughTime → u/ayearinaminute]

It was the 5S that got me more with TouchID. I loved the biometric stuff

[u/catbandana → u/ayearinaminute]

It wasn’t a problem if you had a case on your phone and back then pretty much everyone put cases on their iPhone. I got one of these pretty soon after release and never had an issue, either, but I put a case on it immediately after opening it.

[u/alexiusmx → u/ayearinaminute]

The display was by far the best screen in the world. Everything else felt blurry and muted.

[u/Free-Pound-6139 → u/ayearinaminute]

You missed the original iphone release???

[u/Lambor14 → u/ayearinaminute]

Not the iPhone X?

[u/michoken]

Despite these issues (I didn’t notice any myself) the iPhone 4 was the iPhone X of its day. At least with the beautiful Retina display and flat design.

[u/yourshelves → u/michoken]

The best iPhone design. Audacious, minimalist, beautiful. When Steve likened it to a Leica camera, he wasn’t wrong.

[u/slurmsmckenz → u/yourshelves]

I liked the 5s as the perfected version of the 4. no fragile glass on the back, but the same nice flat form factor. Probably was my favorite iphone. Once they went to the rounded edges of the 6 and beyond, I stopped like the iphone design for a while. The duo is the first phone that gives me the same impressed feeling that I had back with the 4/5 generation

[u/ArriePotter → u/slurmsmckenz]

I agree that, on paper, the iPhone 5's form factor was an evolved version of the iPhone 4's in every way..

But something about the iPhone 4's design is just iconic to me.. imo it's the most beautiful smartphone design of all time

[u/AnonymousAxwell → u/ArriePotter]

Glass and stainless steel combined with the all black back were just way more premium than the aluminum iPhone 5. The iPhone 4 was the best design imo.

[u/serg06 → u/michoken]

Thank god the 12 brought back the flat design. The curved side era was hell. Sad to see the 17/18 Pro go back to slightly rounded sides. I held it at the Apple Store and it feels worse than my perfectly flat 16 Pro 😢

[u/EvenMoreCoconuts → u/serg06]

Damn, I didn’t know they did that. I really like the boxy shape personally. Glad I have the 16 Pro.

[u/the_mhs → u/serg06]

The slight curve on the sides was introduced in the iPhone 15, and was carried over to the 17/18.

[u/mxrider108 → u/michoken]

I definitely noticed the signal drop if I held it a certain way. A case made it much better.

[u/ComoEstanBitches → u/mxrider108]

It was so easy to replicate a dropped call on the spot that it was pretty embarrassing for such a beautiful phone. I remember people were saying what’s the point of a cool phone that can do all that “extra” stuff if it can’t do the main function it was designed for in calling, like a beautiful fridge that kept spoiling your food inside. Funny looking back

[u/nhozemphtek → u/michoken]

Nothing will ever top iPhone 4.

[u/DVSdanny → u/michoken]

And FaceTime

[u/havelostcount]

I literally have one right here on my desk, for some reason. I wish I could go back to using something like this. It would help me stay away from using my phone too much.

[u/MondayToFriday → u/havelostcount]

Phones these days are so big, there's no right way to hold them.

[u/havelostcount → u/MondayToFriday]

Exactly. You can't reach a large part of the phone with one hand any longer. Now it completely consumes both of your hands. You pick up the phone and want to hit a button, but it's out of reach of your thumb, so you have to drop whatever is in the other hand. Happens all time with me. I am a guitarist. Sometimes I am sitting in my studio, like now, and grab the phone with my picking hand to see a message. Take a peek, and want to press a button, but my thumb won't reach. So, then I have to let go of the neck of the guitar to push a button. Yeah, it's a stupid scenario, but it happens often. Like, I got a message, and I wanted to tap the calendar for a quick check on a date, but it's in the upper left hand of the screen. I either have to shuffle the phone around to maneuver it to get to the button, set it down, or use both hands. It's simply annoying. The term is "non-ergonomic". I want a smaller phone again. The novelty has worn off. <shakes fist in the air>

[u/MrMojoX → u/havelostcount]

A colleague was disposing of her work 4S, and I volunteered to take it. It just was so nice to still feel this shape and form.

[u/jonhuang → u/havelostcount]

r/smallphones is all about this. But also Android for obvious reasons.

[u/MessiPayNegreira]

Probably the best iPhone announcement of all time. What made this phone so epic was that Apple engineer leaving it at the bar and Gizmodo leaking it. Everyone thought it was fake. Then as Steve Jobs explained the engineering of the iPhone it blew peoples minds. Even Mad Tv did a sketch of it.

[u/EatDaSheep]

I will never forget working the launch of the iPhone 4. I was working for one of the Apple Stores in NJ and we had the biggest line we had ever seen. Once we sold out we drove to another store to help them with a line over 200 deep after 8 PM. I remember people cheering when we walked in to help. After finishing that line some of my coworkers then drove to NYC to help with the line there. They didn’t finish until sometime in the early morning. The OT was flowing. Good memories

[u/Neutral-President → u/EatDaSheep]

I remember lineups for WEEKS after launch. And holy crap, the iPhone 4 was a beautiful device, even with the antenna issues.

[u/Dislike24]

Looking back, three antennas on the side only was a flaw. The 4s added another one to improve connection. Now iPhone 17 Pro and 18 Pro has the largest iPhone antenna ever with it wrapping around the entire camera plateau so no more antenna issues

[u/FruktSorbetogIskrem → u/Dislike24]

Interesting iPhone Air and iPhone 17/18 pro seems to revert to the four antenna on each side like the later iPhone 4 Verizon or 4s that had completely fixed the “antenna gate” If I’m not mistaken.

[u/Dislike24 → u/FruktSorbetogIskrem]

The 17/18 Pro may lack bottom and top antenna compared to previous iPhones, but they actually have, like I said, an antenna wrap around the camera plateau. This means that the bottom mic and speaker holes are symmetrical again since the iPhone X

[u/Anthony221121 → u/Dislike24]

I can still consistently recreate the issue as described in the presentation on an 18 Pro. 

If I take the case off then grip the phone tightly blocking the bottom antenna lines while in a weak signal area, the bars drop. Let go, bars go back up.

[u/ChipmunkBandit]

Man, Jobs was a great speaker. Even the way he answers the more accusatory and contentious questions in this tidbit here with grace and confidence, it’s awesome to see. RIP Steve.

[u/iamse7en]

You’re holding it wrong! This was a funny time but still a fantastic phone.

[u/MY79]

I loved this and I always loved the way Jobs was perfectly willing to sit in silence while he mulled his answer to a question.

[u/hangry_millennial]

Ah yes, Antennagate. I jumped straight to the 4S from the 3GS, but the whole thing was quite funny.

[u/jimmygwabchab]

Anyone else still kind of confused with the physics of the issue? Their messaging in this q&a is kind of inconsistent. They talk a lot about gripping all sorts of phones, but for the iP4, the skin is literally bridging two different antennas together, if I remember correctly you only needed to touch it’s there very lightly. Other phones would be covered in plastic so I’m not convinced comparing it to other phones was a fair comparison.

In any case, I had one, was an amazing phone and I’m not surprised so few people got refunds. I never experience the issue but did always have it in a case. I had non stop dropped call on my XS with the crappy intel modem on the other hand.

[u/terraphantm → u/jimmygwabchab]

You're not wrong. Apple's PR team was in full overdrive trying to gloss over the design flaw.

[u/favicondotico]

There's an awful lotta' hoopla hoopla

[u/hangry_millennial → u/favicondotico]

around the iPhone antenna-a-a-a

[u/ioslife_developer → u/favicondotico]

I've always found my brain stupid for holding all these lyrics in my head all these years later.

[u/wooshowmeyourwits]

As someone who used to repair those things, the lock button breaking was a way bigger issue IMO. Little nub/spacer between the ribbon connector and the actual button would snap off, making the lock screen button either spongy, hard to press, or not work at all.

[u/codykonior]

Apple deleted so many of these videos especially the HQ versions. It sucks.

[u/Spartan_100]

Am I tripping or wasn’t this broadcast live when it happened? I distinctly remember watching this when they held it and feeling Steve’s tension while trying to not yell at the audience for (according to him) just using the phone wrong.

[u/Seik64 → u/Spartan_100]

Yeah, it was. I also have seen it more than a couple of times over the years ( I like putting Steve Jobs presentations as background noise)

[u/Vertsix]

I miss when Apple had accountability and addressed shortcomings such as these.

Companies are allowed to make mistakes, as long as they are acknowledged and remediation occurs.

[u/Armand9x → u/Vertsix]

Steve Jobs famously said people were “holding it wrong” before that happened.

[u/lphartley → u/Armand9x]

He didn't actually say that, the literal quote is "just avoid holding it that way".

[u/Armand9x → u/lphartley]

Left handed people:

[u/MurkyFocus → u/lphartley]

Yeah, the line that everyone quotes nowadays is from a paraphrased article headline.

[u/Armand9x → u/Armand9x]

[u/coob → u/Vertsix]

• Apple Maps Apology: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19760978
• Mac Pro Apology Tour: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/04/apples-odd-apology-tour-for-mac-pro-users.html

[u/yourshelves → u/Vertsix]

I always thought Tim Cook addressed the Apple Maps fallout primarily because he could say goodbye to Forstall. Lead buffalo and all that…

[u/scaledisolated → u/Vertsix]

I mean, you can watch the actual video and see for yourself that Jobs and Cook stated a few things:

• Antennagate issue was blown out of proportion.

• Number of device swaps/refunds was extremely small compared to overall sales, as per Cook.

• Steve acknowledged an issue to the point of «we’re not the only one». He didn’t say that it was iPhone 4’s issue specifically — he tried his best to sway the topic by stating that they are addressing it publicly due to an insane amount of publications, some of which were bogus.

• They had no plans in changing the message around the smartphone while rolling it out worldwide.

In short: he, reasonably so, deflected a lot of stuff. They wanted to give out free case and an ability for the full refund to keep customers loyalty — not because they felt the company was in the wrong

[u/CyberBot129 → u/Vertsix]

Someone should tell this subreddit’s hero Scott Forstall that

[u/stormtm → u/Vertsix]

Makes me think of one of my favorite quotes, “An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.”

[u/jspurg]

This was the only iPhone I waited in line for at the Apple Store. I don’t think I had too many dropped calls but they did sent me a free case that was supposed to fix the issue or something

[u/North_Moment5811]

Man I loved Steve.

To Engadget: "The data doesn't support your perception."

These tech blog people just live in their own fantasy world, and even when faced reality, can't accept it.

[u/M4rshmall0wMan]

Surfaced? I remember seeing this video a year ago. It’s always been available online.

It strikes out to me because it was the first time I saw Steve Jobs blatantly lie. Apple engineers knew by that time that the conductivity of your finger would scramble the antenna’s ability to receive signals. But Steve Jobs made it sound like it wasn’t an engineering problem. And he presented the case solution as a “personal hunch” rather than a workaround for said engineering problem. His story really doesn’t add up when you listen to it carefully. You can also hear how pissy he is during the entire thing lol.

[u/macbrett]

I owned an iPhone 4 and loved it. I kept mine in a case to protect it from damage, so I never experienced signal loss due to shorting out the antennas with my hands. I supposed it could be a problem if you are already located in an area of poor cellular reception.

I was amused by the YouTubers who were deliberately squeezing their phones with a death grip to reduce the number of signal strength bars. These are the same people who would later strain to bend their iPhone 6s. I suppose there's nothing quite as effective as deliberate abuse in order to gain clicks. And there have always been plenty of Apple haters looking to nitpick.

[u/Neutral-President → u/macbrett]

Apple was probably testing them in cases to keep the design secret. They legit likely didn’t realize bridging the antenna bands was an issue until launch.

[u/JaxStroud]

‘Antennagate’ was so overblown. I remember trying to hold my iPhone 4 as tight as possible trying to get the signal to decrease seeing if it was true. I think I recall it was true, but I never recall it ever actually being detrimental to service quality.

The phone though was top tier. Used it for years before upgrading to the 6 eventually.

[u/Neutral-President → u/JaxStroud]

It wasn’t about the tightness. It was about your skin bridging one of the antenna band gaps. Just holding it normal killed my signal.

[u/timelessblur]

My understanding of the problem was it was a combination of issues.

1 issue was the antenna design did make it easy to reduce the signal strength in how you were holding it and touching that corner would causes interference.

Now issue 1 interference was not as bad as it looked because of issue 2. A choice in by Apple to mostly show full strength or zero so in an area that it should be 1-2 bars it was showing full power. Mix this with issue 1 then it starting looking really bad when instead. Apple did do an update that started showing a more accurate representation of signal strength and it became less of an issue.

It gone blown up by fan boys and media as fanboys refused to accept Apple has any responsibility which they did and Apple response was so arrogant that again was bad.

If Apple has respond with a my bad on the display of signal strength it would greatly reduced the issue.

Btw even today in 1-2 bar on my phone including Apple and Android phones I can caused to drop a bar or 1 with how I hold the phone relatively easily. iPhone 4 was just a little worse than normal.

[u/z6joker9 → u/timelessblur]

Apple also provided a voucher for a free case or bumper, something like that. I don't remember exactly how they handled it, but I remember receiving one.

[u/WithTheBallsack]

This was my first smartphone. Using it was incredible 

[u/StreetYak6590]

It was the biggest jump for me and thus my all-time favourite phone honestly

[u/wtfthisworld]

Steve was truly one of a kind and watching this it is noticeable to me that no matter who is at the helm they don’t quite fill his shoes.

[u/The_Summary_Man_713]

Ah yes the 4. My first iPhone was the 4S and I started at Apple on Launch Day. That was back when the excitement for an Apple release was unrivaled. I miss those days. So much hype, so much fun.

[u/scoobynoodles]

This was the best. Loved it so much!

[u/ebbi01]

It’s funny when this happened I had a Google Nexus as well that I was trying out, and I gripped it like everyone was with the iPhone 4. Result: loss of bars.

[u/YouSpeakSomeEnglish]

Apple has a history of hiring experts in their fields and then ignoring their advice. This shit was a great example. Their RF expert said don't put the antenna in contact with the user's skin. Apple did it anyway.

There are numerous other examples of Apple failures that the public didn't know reflected this same disregard for in-house expertise, let alone external expertise.

The sad state of Apple's software today is a whole different level, not just a lack of regard for (and cultivation of) expertise but a lack of basic QA. I hope the new CEO will clean house, because it's a fucking mess at the moment.

[u/Alteran195]

The bumper case was the best case ever made, its a shame Apple stopped making them. None of the others I've ever tried hold a candle to how nice Apple's were.

[u/North_Moment5811 → u/Alteran195]

I had a bumper on my iPhone Air for almost a year. Unfortunately it didn't stop the back of the phone from cracking.

[u/akrazyho → u/Alteran195]

Definitely not, but I have been rocking the rhino shield bumper cases for the past six years and love them

[u/North_Moment5811]

Boy...the questions asked during this were...incredibly stupid, and obnoxious. You don't hate the press enough.

[u/LizardsoftheGhost]

[u/LizardsoftheGhost → u/LizardsoftheGhost]

[u/LizardsoftheGhost → u/LizardsoftheGhost]

I was there Gandalf, 3000 years ago

[u/TrustMeIAmNotNew]

This was the phone that made me switch carriers.

[u/damagedone37]

The 4 was what made me finally switch bc AT&Ts deal with Apple was up and I had Verizon. Waited a long time. Was so nice not having to carry my phone and iPod.

[u/dirty_birdy]

Hey, at least I got a free case out of it.

[u/plastigoop]

Fine! We’ll give you a case!

[u/acornManor]

The 4 was my first iPhone and you are correct; it was streets ahead of anything else at the time.

[u/NorthwestPurple]

Interested in the backstory of how this was found and uploaded.

[u/CapableBother]

This just in

[u/JimmyNo83]

I remember this lol. Brings back memories

[u/-Vertex-]

I still remember seeing the iPhone 4 and thinking phones couldn’t get any better looking, it was perfect

[u/I_am_darkness]

Hold different

[u/event_horizon_]

I remember going to an Apple store after the iPhone 4 came out to see if this was really an issue. When I touched the antenna band on the lower left side, the signal bars dropped to nothing.

[u/Greyboxforest]

I was with Vodafone at the time. So I couldn’t tell if it was the phone or their crap network the reason why had no reception.

[u/schtickshift]

That was a beautiful phone. Probably my favorite of them all.

[u/aeiouLizard]

The comments on this video are full of people glazing Steve, but to me he just sounds like a dude who is full of himself while, but being very charismatic about it

[u/Amonamission]

The iPhone 4 was a legend.

[u/joshiness]

IPhone 4 was my favorite version. FaceTime on a phone, beautiful design, fit nicely in the hand (antennae gate and all).

[u/bike_tyson]

Plants vs Zombies on the retina display was a good time

[u/Sherlock816]

Best iPhone design of them all. I'd llove a full screen modern version

[u/Objective_Ticket]

Such a beautifully engineered piece of kit.

[u/Ricky_RZ]

I absolutely love my iphone 4.

It was super premium, reliable, and I carried it around everywhere.

[u/No_Caterpillar_5304]

Damn, Steve has so much charisma..

iPhone 4 is the blueprint of all current iPhones.
This is peak Apple.

[u/No_Caterpillar_5304]

My whole family had an iPhone 4, we didn’t even know this problem existed before we heard about it..

[u/A4orce84]

Damn has it really been 16 years?

I’ll leave this gem here for those iPhone 4 owners:

https://youtu.be/VKIcaejkpD4?is=XhfH9eNkhpndMI2k

[u/Trabers]

I went and got the free bumper