If Apple were to bow to pressure and issue a recall for the iPhone 4, the move would cost the company an estimated $1.5 billion, according to a senior analyst.
Apple has been heavily criticised for signal problems on its latest iPhone. Users have reported dropped calls and weakened reception when their hand covers the lower left-hand corner of the device. Apple has acknowledged that holding the phone in that way can cause signal issues, but said this was common with many handsets. A forthcoming software update will fix problems with the phone displaying an incorrect number of signal ‘bars’ but it will not resolve this issue.
US watchdog Consumer Reports issued a damning review of the iPhone 4, which stated that it definitely suffered from signal issues. The organisation said it would not be recommending the device to consumers, and there have been calls from other industry figures for Apple to recall the faulty devices.
Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst with Bernstein Research, said that although a full product recall was “highly unlikely”, such a move would cost Apple $1.5 billion. The more likely option, he said, would be for Apple to issue every iPhone 4 owner with a rubber “bumper” which fits over the stainless steel antenna band that runs around the device, and helps to reduce these signal problems. The bumpers, which come in a variety of colours, cost £25, but Bernstein estimates that giving them away to customers would cost Apple $1 per unit.
"It could be done immediately, would directly address the Consumer Report's concern, and would be financially immaterial," he said. "While it would force Apple to 'acknowledge' a design issue with the iPhone, we believe that consumers are increasingly aware of the antenna issue, and remedying it rather than dismissing or ignoring it appears most appropriate.”
Sacconaghi said this latest episode showed Apple was engaging in a worrying pattern of “hubris” and had, on occasion, seemingly purposely mislead customers and investors.
"Perhaps the bigger, longer-term concern for Apple investors is the emerging pattern of hubris that the company has displayed, which has increasingly pitted competitors (and regulators) against the company, and risks alienating customers over time.
Apple saw more than £6.5 billion wiped off its value yesterday, following the publication of the Consumer Reports review. The company’s share price fell by 4.2 per cent at one stage, although it rallied later in the day and recovered slightly at the US stock markets headed higher.
via telegraph.co.uk
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