Numerous reports of reception issues with the iPhone 4 seem to have surfaced in the last few days all seemingly due to the way the iPhone is held in one’s hand. More specifically, signal strength is reported to drop when gripped tightly on the lower metal band covering the black strip.
This new and innovative antenna design was supposed to be one of the features of iPhone 4 but the flurry of complaints has lead many to question the actual design of this new feature.
The July 2 press release entitled “Letter from Apple Regarding iPhone 4” and addressed to all iPhone 4 users Apple pointed out that the situation came a as total surprise – in fact they were stunned (sounds like a statement from Monty Python’s Dead Parrot Sketch), adding that gripping any mobile device a certain way can lead reduced reception, ie: signal strength, indicated by the number of bars showing on the display.
Formulas Wrong
But after further investigation the company says they determined that the formulas they were using to calculate the number of bars to display, was inaccurate and in many cases showing phantom bars as many as 2 more than the actual signal strength.
Apple concluded that they weren’t really losing signal, since it was never there to begin with. They say to fix this they will be taking a page from AT&T’s game card and in future use the carrier’s method for calculating bars. Furthermore they will also make the first 3 bars slightly taller so they can be seen more easily.
Other reports see this as an engineering issue, claiming a specific hand grip reduces the bands insulation and in certain instances creates an electrical pathway between the iPhone’s 2 antennas and thus causing the problem.
Obviously something has gone awry. Apple’s free update is expected in a few weeks, hopefully in time for the Canadian launch. I guess we’ll soon see if the issue is real, a simple blip to be fixed or whether it’s just been blown out of proportion.
I’ve played with the iPhone 4, but only for a few minutes. If I had one in my hand right now I could test it and see for myself. 
Greg Gazin is the Real Canadian Gadget Guy.
Follow me on Twitter @gadgetgreg
Tags: apple, Gadget Guy, gadgetguy, iphone