"They're folding it wrong!" - Former LG PR on iPhone Duo Crackgate
Will Apple handle Crackgate better than it did Antennagate?
An engineering mistake, or are users just folding the Duo the wrong way? | Image by The Internet
This week, I sat down for an interview with Kenneth Hong, LG's former head of global communications, to talk about the full arc of LG's phone business: from the early feature phone days, to the smartphone boom and the eventual downfall of a company whose products many of us remember fondly.
However, at one point in the conversation, I asked Ken about his opinion on "Crackgate" and the way Apple has been handling the situation. For the uninitiated, "Crackgate" is the label the community has put to the recurring instances of broken iPhone Duo displays, currently speculated to be caused by some sort of engineering flaw.
As I was trying to word my question as correctly and as appropriately as possible, Ken was way more direct and interjected with "I think the answer is: they are folding it wrong."
Watch this particular moment of our conversation here:
Of course, we had a good laugh, and Ken was obviously referring to the Antennagate controversy from the iPhone 4 days, when Steve Jobs famously replied to a user complaint over email with "Just avoid holding it in that way." The internet then jokingly decided to rephrase Steve Jobs' comment and Apple's general attitude towards the issue as "You're holding it wrong."
Mr. Hong had some insights to share from the perspective of a communications expert, namely that in a world of social media and lightning-fast short video, a company cannot afford to wait for the perfect answer before it proactively releases a statement and takes control of the situation.
His overall message is that of 'more transparency' – something consumers have always wanted but Apple has traditionally been reluctant to provide.
It remains to be seen what will come out of Crackgate, and what Apple's response will be. One thing I hope for is that it doesn't grow out of proportion to the point that it ruins the reputation of the company's debut foldable. We waited so long for Apple to finally launch a foldable phone, we don't want it to be discouraged after the first try.
You can watch my full "LG's Rise and Fall" conversation with Ken Hong here!
Previous conversions
Popular stories
Latest News
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: