So, Apple released an update to it’s latest iOS 4 OS. iOS 4.01 really has only one change and its to change the values that the bars represents next to the AT&T on iPhones. Some people think that this will fix the “grip of death” that the iPhone is experiencing now. It won’t. It just reports the signal strength that the phone is receiving from cell towers differently.
AnandTech.com has a very good article on the change and how it effects the reporting of the signal strength that the phone is getting.
An interesting comparison that blows me away is how just one other smart phone reports signal strength compared to the two methods that Apple does:
The graph above shows Android 2.2, iOS 4.0 and iOS 4.1 beta’s reporting of signal strength. It’s amazing to me how much different all three ranges are. Now to be fair, Android only shows 4 bars where iPhone shows 5, but other than that, they are all over the place.
Is there not a “standard” for what should be reported when it comes to signal strength on cell phones? If there isn’t, whats stopping a manufacturer from just reporting 5 bars from -51dBm to -113dBm, then showing less as the signal drops down to -121dBm?
Actually, the new ranges that iOS is reporting in iOS 4.01 & 4.1beta seem way more reasonable than the 4.0 and less method and even the Android 2.2 method. The Green range is way bigger than it seems it should be. Maybe they are just dropping the second range and saying that if you are in -89dBm to -51dBm, you are in 4 bars. However, I would rather them merge the 2bars and 3bars that iOS uses now rather then bars 4 and 5. However, that is besides the point.
Making this adjustment to the bars ranges in iOS 4.01 and 4.1 is not going to solve the “grip of death” issue that iPhone 4 is having right now. The only way to solve this problem is to put a clear film over the stainless steel that surrounds the side of the phone or give out bumpers to folks that are complaining. Even then, Apple is going to have to do something to the phone in the future to fix this problem and will still have to deal with a class-action law suit for the folks that were “early-adopters”.
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