Back in 2010, Apple faced significant backlash over issues with cellular reception following the release of the iPhone 4. That model was a significant redesign over the previous version. And it seems changes made to how Apple has deployed antennae in the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max may be causing similar reception issues.
There are varied reports about the new flagship phones and how they perform in certain conditions when it comes to cellular communications. An analysis of filings Apple made and analysis by the USA’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found:
Some of the lab test data raised potential red flags regarding the new iPhones’ RF reception and transmission abilities in low signal strength conditions.
It’s worth noting that, according to iFixIt’s iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max teardown, that the LTE antenna arrangement has been altered so that may explain why the newer iPhones perform differently to the previous model under different conditions.
Andrew J Shepherd, who wrote the analysis of the FCC’s lab testing says it’s possible Apple can tweak the performance of the radios through firmware updates, avoiding the need to give iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max owners a free case as they did back in 2008 with the iPhone 4.
Who’s running one of the newer iPhones? Are you able to compare performance with a previous iPhone model? If you are, is there a noticeable performance difference?
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