Lost iPhone 4 Antennagate Q&A video surfaces after 16 years
The complete question-and-answer session from Steve Jobs' 2010 press conference has resurfaced on YouTube, offering the first video record of the event.
What to know
- The complete Q&A from Apple's July 2010 iPhone 4 antenna press conference has surfaced on YouTube for the first time in video form, 16 years after the event.
- Apple's official record only included the initial presentation; the Q&A had been reported by media but never publicly released as video until now.
- The recovered footage shows Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, and Bob Mansfield fielding substantive questions about the antenna design issues—a historical record of how Apple managed a major product crisis.
The recovered video is historically important and worth watching as a portrait of Steve Jobs' thoughtfulness and Apple's crisis management approach.
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“I seldom suggest you spend 47 minutes watching a video, but this one is worth your time.”
John Gruber · Daring Fireball ↗
“The most extraordinary Apple event in the company's modern history was the emergency press conference on Friday, 16 July 2010 to address "antennagate" — the out-of-control media narrative that the iPhone 4 had a defective antenna design.”
John Gruber · Daring Fireball · Sep 22
Steve Jobs Apple CEO
Tim Cook Apple COOBob Mansfield Apple hardware chiefJohn Gruber Tech journalist and Daring Fireball author
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Tech observers praise the recovered footage as historically significant
John Gruber and others highlight the Q&A as an important historical document showing Steve Jobs' thoughtfulness and Apple's approach to crisis management, with Gruber noting it avoids the repetitive, non-answer pattern typical of long press conferences.
“it really is extraordinary. A look back into an old version of Apple, sitting somewhere between the classic Mac days of the 1990s and today's Apple.”
— manton@manton.org -
John Gruber linked to this iPhone 4 Antennagate Q&A and it really is extraordinary. A look back into an old version of Apple, sitting somewhere between the classic Mac days of the 1990s and today’s Apple.
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Complete Q&A video surfaces on YouTube
Video of the full 47-minute Q&A session appeared on YouTube uploaded by a channel called "Sir Mix-A-Lot Rare Music," marking the first time the complete session has been publicly available in video form.
“I don't know what truck this video fell off the back of, why it took 16 years, or how it came into the hands of "Sir Mix-A-Lot Rare Music", but I'm sure glad it did.”
— John Gruber -
background
Q&A session covered by tech media but video not released — The Q&A was recorded and on the record, reported widely by outlets including TidBITS, but Apple never released video of the full session—only the initial presentation portion was officially distributed before being taken down years later.
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background
Apple holds emergency press conference on iPhone 4 antenna issues — Steve Jobs, COO Tim Cook, and hardware chief Bob Mansfield held an emergency press conference at Apple's Town Hall auditorium to address the iPhone 4 antenna controversy. Jobs delivered a 30-minute presentation followed by a Q&A session with assembled media.