Apple iPhone 4 “Antennagate” Q&A (2010) [video]

wil421

My iPhone 4 was like the Nokia of iPhones. Mine lasted forever and I think it was my longest lasting one. I had it for 5 years, I knew people who had it until 3G was being phased out and they had to switch. I always use a case on every phone and never had a single issue with the 4.

nozzlegear

It's fascinating how Jobs isn't afraid to pause and wait while he thinks about his answer (07:00, 20:00). He doesn't have that habit most have of babbling to fill dead air. It makes him sound a lot more authentic/less rehearsed.

JMiao

primordial social media

mrweasel

One of the issues with the iPhone 4 was that holding it in your left hand caused problems for the antenna. The iPhone Duo seems to indicate that Apple still don't actually believe that left handed people exists.

stouset

I loved watching this, and it really cements for me how out of touch with reality the common antennagate narrative was. Everything about this Q&A was thoughtful, well-meaning, and heavily considered. And it's true: while the iPhone 4 had ways it could be better, it wasn't materially worse than any of the other phones of its era. A recall would have been ridiculous because that would have required them to have a fix for something the industry at large hadn't yet solved. And they were extremely measured in their response. If you're unhappy with your cell reception, they were happy to give you a case to improve the situation, no questions asked. If you still weren't happy, they had (and had had, and continue to have) one of the best return policies in the industry. They wanted to you to be happy with your purchase, and if you weren't, they wanted you to be able to get a phone you would be happy with. Steve Jobs may have been a terrible person in many ways, but one of the good things about him absolutely was his unfailing commitment to his customers.

ChrisArchitect

Some related Gruber insights: The iPhone 4 'Antennagate' Press Conference Q&A https://daringfireball.net/2026/09/iphone_4_antennagate_q_an... ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49829984 )