14 DAY TRIAL // The bad PR Apple is getting over the iPhone 4 “antennagate” is old news, but there are still a number of related topics worth looking into. For instance, Apple’s new web site dedicated entirely to its antenna design and test labs. Apple aims to convince visitors that the company is dead serious about its iPhone, and that there was little chance to mess up badly on the wireless performance of its iPhone 4.
“Apple has invested more than $100 million building its advanced antenna design and test labs,” the company states on the respective web site. “Our engineers have logged thousands of hours designing and testing iPhone 4 in these state-of-the-art facilities.” A three-image slideshow offers a glimpse of the kind of testing facilities Apple uses to measure the performance of its wireless products - in this case, the iPhone 4.
“Apple never releases a product without thoroughly testing it first,” Cupertino outlines. “To do this, we built our multimillion-dollar antenna design and test labs. These labs feature 17 different antenna characterization chambers (or anechoic chambers) designed to accurately measure antenna and wireless performance.”
Before moving on through the various topics Apple covers, the iPhone maker offers up a video showing the test labs and the fascinating anechoic chambers up close. "Over a one- to two-year development cycle, Apple engineers spend thousands of hours performing antenna and wireless testing in the lab,” the company reveals. But testing is not only done inside the lab.
“Apple engineers tested iPhone 4 in a variety of scenarios, environments, and conditions in order to gauge performance. They spent thousands of hours in cities in the U.S. and throughout the world testing iPhone 4 call quality, dropped-call performance, call origination and termination, and in-service time. They tested iPhone 4 while stationary, at high and low speeds, and in urban, dense urban, and highway environments. In low-coverage areas and good-coverage areas, during peak and off-peak hours — iPhone 4 was field-tested in nearly every possible coverage scenario across different vendor and carrier equipment all over the world,” Apple claims, ensuring there is no longer a question of whether iPhone 4 had been thoroughly tested for reception issues.
Apple’s video featuring its test facilities, including three of its anechoic chambers, is embedded below.
