June 28th, 2010 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Platforms: iOS | No Comments »
Over the time that MGB has been in ‘holiday mode’, we did keep track of all the fuzz around the introduction of the new iPhone and iPhone OS (iOS). What went wrong and what’s next?
The iOS 4.0 Update
Last Monday, Apple made available iOS 4.0 to all iPhone and iPod owners that have at least a second generation device. Though first generation owners complaint about the lack of support, at least they didn’t have to file complaints about the update itself.
First off, we updated our iPod 3G with the iOS firmware and didn’t experience any issues apart from some apps starting up in Spanish and some not starting at all (proving iOS 4.0 is not 100% backward compatible). So with a few Spanish 101 lessons, we should be fine with our iPod.
Users on the internet (and those are mainly iPhone 3G and 3Gs owners) are filing massive complaints. Though loss of apps is heard a lot, that is mainly limited to jailbreak owners (they brought that one on themselves). Other complaints are more serious like loss of contacts, messages, agenda’s, 3G connections, WiFi, MMS, Push, sync functionality or the device looping through its reboot state forever. The update already lead to several claims at T-Mobile NL’s service partner pro-assist.
If we look at previous updates which went flawless, we ask ourselves if Apple rushed this release out without the proper testing you might expect. Also, backup functionality seems to be an issue which means many iPhone owners can’t revert to a working state as well.
The iPhone 4 Hardware
It seems iOS 4.0 is not the only thing users complaint about. When holding the iPhone in your left hand, you might short-circuit the antenna’s resulting in a loss of reception during a call. Apple’s statement on this? Don’t hold it in your left hand (discriminating all lefty’s on the go) of buy a $30,- rubber band. Consumers on a smaller budget found out a bit of tape can fix this issue as well but will not make the iPhone 4 look any prettier (nor does that official rubber band). Another reason for dropped calls is the proximity sensor that sometimes misreads sensor data, something that should be easy to fix with a software update.
Consumers also complaint about yellow spots on their brand new retina display’s. This seems to be the result of glue that hasn’t fully dried yet and should disappear in some time. Also on some devices, the volume buttons turn out to be placed in reversed order. There is no official statement on that one but it would probably be to ‘use them in reversed order’. Finally, the extremely strong glass seems to shatter now and then and keys do scratch it. Apple replaced the first 50 units where the backside glass broke but has stopped this service in line with its ‘company policy’.
So what’s next?
Though Apple initially stated that people should not hold the device in their left hand or should buy their Bumper Case (or rubber band as everyone calls it), Apple has now more or less announced it will be sending out an update to iOS 4.0 that should make the iPhone 4 resistant to the ‘left hand’ design issue. It is not clear how it is solved but shutting down the WiFi antenna whilst calling might do the trick. No news on the other issues though.
