In an official apology to customers, Apple says it will soon offer a software update to correct the "simple and surprising" reception problems with the iPhone 4. Soon after the cell phone's June 24 release, a wave of users reported a weakened signal strength when they touched the bottom left corner of the device, interfering with the phone's antennas. Apple, however, says the "big drop in [signal strength] bars" reflects the fact that the "high bars were never real in the first place" — a problem present in every iPhone since the original. Is there any reason to doubt the company's explanation?
Why did it take so long to notice this? This is a "complicated" issue, says Jacqui Cheng in Ars Technica, because "there is no industry standard for how signal translates into the bar display." Manufacturers are simply forced "make up their own scale." Apple, however, seems to have miscalculated. My question is — "why has this problem in bar calculation only come up now"?
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