Telcel Director of Value Added Services, Marco Quatorze, claims Apple will be releasing an updated iPhone 4 model at the end of September when the company wraps up its free case program. Telcel is one of Apple’s iPhone partner in Mexico, and Mr. Quatorze made the claim in response to questions from CanalMX (translation).
Currently, Apple is offering free cases to iPhone 4 buyers in response to concerns over antenna-related cell signal strength issues. Claims that covering the iPhone 4’s lower left corner with your hand would cause signal strength to drop appeared as the new model was released, ultimately leading to a special Apple press conference where the free case program was announced.
According to Mr. Quatorze, Apple will be replacing the current iPhone 4 model at the end of September with an new version that includes a redesigned antenna system that isn’t susceptible to the potential signal loss issues like the current shipping model. He also claimed Telcel will have several options in place for subscribers that want to swap out their current iPhone 4 for the updated model.
Since Apple typically keeps information about product changes secret, it doesn’t seem likely Mr. Quatorze would have access to details about upcoming iPhone 4 changes. While it’s possible a revised iPhone 4 model is on the way, it’s also possible that Mr. Quatorze is misinterpreting Apple’s plans for the end of September when the free case program wraps up.
4 Comments
It is quite possible, it makes sense. Note that the white model is still unavailable, maybe they were holding off on that until they got the antenna situation sorted out.
Can’t be true. The iPhone doesn’t have an antenna problem. All other phones suffer the same problem. Apple is giving out free bumpers to alleviate the non-problem. Mr. Quatorze’s name means “14” in French. QED.
I think it’s a little bit of a head-in-the-sand approach to say that the iPhone 4 has NO antenna issues. Yes, all phones have attenuation when held a certain way, and no, this is NOT a major issue, but after hearing about this non-stop for a month, my final conclusion was that there is a slightly greater attenuation problem for those noticing it.
Having said that, I thought it was a media problem more than anything. But perception is everything, and right now Apple has a bullseye on the iPhone 4 in the shape of a gap between two antennas, and I do think at some point they’ll go about addressing that. If for nothing else, they’ll want to get rid of the perception of the weak spot.
More tongue-in-cheek than head-in-the-sand, I’d say.
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