Oh my goodness! The thing everyone was speculating about but never thought Apple would do might be happening: A voluntary recall! This would imply that the device causes no harm to users (like a government forced one), but that Apple may be admitting to a design flaw that must be fixed. Now keep in mind, it’s a singular report, but this may not be too clear until more reports come in (if any).

According to the claim, the phone was brought in, and was subsequently replaced. On the new unit, the front glass has changed out (since the proximity sensor is now visible and less black) and the antenna bands are “more matte.” Gizmodo followed up and exchanged one of their units and it was the exact same as every other iPhone 4. So, this may all be a hoax. It’d be a good thing for Apple to recall the units, albeit expensive, but very bad to admit failure. They can’t really win either way. If the problem is even that bad to begin with, the media has already spewed their crap on it.

UPDATE: More people are having sending in reports. Oddly only to Gizmodo it seems. To me, it’s looking fishy since Gizmodo has that history with Apple. Read the extra reports.

Read the orignal claim, after the break.

I’ve been following all of the iPhone 4 stuff since I got mine the day before release. I was able to replicate the signal issue. I also had the proximity sensor issue, causing inadvertent mute button pushing. There were a few other software issues I was experiencing so I consulted Apple at the Fifth Avenue store in New York. They replaced my phone. The diagnostic showed that the OS was corrupt and certain utilities were failing. [They claimed that] all phones with a proximity sensor issue were being sent back to Apple for further study.

Well, when I got the new phone it was different. It was different hardware. The black [plastic] bezel isn’t as black on the new one. I couldn’t see the proximity sensor at all on the previous iPhone 4, now I can. The stainless steel band on the new phone is less ‘steel-y’ and more matte. I’ve also tried to replicate the signal drop and failure. While I can’t say for sure that it is entirely fixed, there is certainly huge improvement. I’m guessing they coated the steel with something, took some black out of the bezel and sent them out without saying too much about it. I also think Apple is willing to warranty a phone for any reason except the signal issue.

The guy next to me said that he had to press the home button several times before the phone would come back from stand-by. This happened once. The Apple tech ran the diagnostic, everything was fine. They still replaced his phone. I think they’re doing a ‘silent recall‘.

via Gizmodo

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