Apple says software fix for iPhone 4 proximity sensor is coming

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on Friday that his company is aware of problems with the proximity sensor on the iPhone 4, and that they are working on a software fix that is expected to be included in the next iOS update.

The statements from Jobs were the first official confirmation from Apple on the issue that users have been experiencing since the handset first launched in late June. Users have found that the touchscreen on their iPhone 4 will sometimes activate while on a call, resulting in accidentally pressed buttons that can place a call on hold or even end it.

Jobs also revealed that the white iPhone 4 is on track to ship by the end of July. Quantities of the model will be limited at first, but will ramp up over time.

And on July 30, the iPhone 4 will launch in 17 more countries, suggesting that the widely reported antenna issues with the handset will not delay the international expansion as some had predicted may happen.

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15 Comments

daharder

said about 13 years ago

Good... Though it should have been found during testing.

manfrommars

said about 13 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaHarder

Good... Though it should have been found during testing.

I'm with you on that. I get that things slip through, especially bugs and issues deep in the OS. But the antenna issue and this screen issue are glaring problems. How could they possibly slip by in a thorough and well-managed testing process?

mariofreak85

said about 13 years ago

Thank you Jesus. I've hung up, muted, and ear dialed more people than I care to admit

irnchriz

said about 13 years ago

I have noticed that this is improved in 4.1 already.

solipsism

said about 13 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariofreak85

Thank you Jesus. I've hung up, muted, and ear dialed more people than I care to admit

Me too, but I’ve have friends (who use their iPhone 4 as a phone a lot more than I do) that don’t have this problem. Their serial numbers seem to indicate that their production is earlier than mine. It’s possible Apple’s component supplier had some variances in their product or they had to switch component supplier in order to keep production up. Even a simple change like this can have enough variance to affect usability and wouldn’t be easily vetted by early testing, despite what Da Harder foolishly thinks.