The Check Is in the Mail, From Apple

Over the next few days, some customers who purchased an iPhone 4 in 2010 will receive a check for $15 in the mail. The checks are part of a class action settled by Apple last year after mobile customers complained about call reception on the iPhone 4. The problem turned out to be with the phone’s antenna reception, and quickly became an Internet obsession in 2010. At the time, Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, famously told one customer: “Just avoid holding it that way.” Before long, the problem was labeled The Death Grip and Antennagate. Apple eventually admitted a problem with the phone’s hardware, and an Apple hardware executive left the company. Jobs apologized publicly, one of the few times he did so at Apple. “We are human and we make mistakes sometimes,” he said. Apple last year agreed to a settlement of $53 million.