Apple acknowledges antenna issue in iPhone 4

Apple has finally acknowledged that the way you hold the iPhone 4 can hinder the device’s cellular reception.

Complaints about weakening or disappearing signals when the iPhone 4 is gripped in a particular way–usually by touching two seams of the antenna band on the exterior of the phone simultaneously–began popping up late Wednesday night, and continued to appear Thursday.

While Internet commenters and bloggers spent most of the day trying to figure out if the problem was related to the phone’s hardware or software, Apple released a statement late in the day to PC Magazine.

“Gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your Phone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.”