Apple iPhone 4
Ranked 13 of 60 smartphones by recommenders
People praise its form factor, width, and design as a standout in Apple's lineup. The most common caveat is the antenna problem, where holding the phone in certain ways hurt reception.
People praise its form factor, width, and design as a standout in Apple's lineup. The most common caveat is the antenna problem, where holding the phone in certain ways hurt reception.
45 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 27
- criticize it
- 18
- approval share
- 60%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 5 years
Median of the 4 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 27 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Praised form factor and size
“I loved the iPhone 4 format factor, but prefer more recent and larger editions for battery life and battery longevity.”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “Allow me to introduce, the Citroen C15” “Still the best form factor has the iPhone 4 in my opinion.”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Commodore Made a Digital Detox Phone That Isn't Dumb” “The width of the iPhone 4 was nearly perfect imo.”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo” - Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Tim Cook Sold Out Steve Jobs (2025)”
- Comment from 30 Jul 2026 in “I Have Thoughts on the iPhone Air”
Beautiful, well-designed look
“iPhone 4 and iOS 7 were the first ones that looked pleasant (don't confuse aesthetics with UX though)”
Comment from 13 Mar 2026 in “IMG_0416” “It no longer feels like a sleek device of the future like the iPhone 4 did.”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “Galaxy Z Fold 8 get the same folding animation as iPhone Duo” “the iPhone 4 was great and I was a satisfied customer”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Tim Cook Sold Out Steve Jobs (2025)” - Comment from 2 Oct 2026 in “Apple Pass Designer”
Long-lasting, reliable phone
“Mine lasted forever and I think it was my longest lasting one.”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Apple iPhone 4 “Antennagate” Q&A (2010) [video]” “4 still shipped with buttons my mum could recognise.”
Comment from 21 Oct 2026 in “No more icons in every menu by default” Speed and features ahead of rivals
“it was the first mix of speed and features that made me and many many colleagues say”
Comment from 27 Mar 2026 in “Rank the 50 best Apple products” “still the best smartphone of that year and leaps ahead of it's closest competition”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Neo” “the iPhone really hit its stride with 4”
Comment from 28 Mar 2026 in “Rank the 50 best Apple products”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Antenna reception problems when held
“Jobs wasn't exactly wrong (the antenna worked OK if you didn't bridge it with your finger)”
Comment from 24 Oct 2026 in “iPhone Duo Owners Report Screens Breaking Along the Hinge” “how bad the reception was in your iPhone 4, and how it ruined the experience of owning it”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “Apple Just Lost Me” “the iphone 4 antenna was obstructed by normal holding of the phone”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Apple is crossing a Steve Jobs red line” - Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Apple iPhone 4 “Antennagate” Q&A (2010) [video]”
- Comment from 28 Mar 2026 in “Apple Just Lost Me”
Flat back scratches and slips
“the flat back not only makes it susceptible to scratching, it makes it hard to pick up off of smooth surfaces”
Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Jolla Phone, Over 13 500 units sold” “the feel was off - it seemed too fancy and too easy to break or scratch”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “iPhone Duo sells out now backordered until next year”
Other smartphones people recommend
The four most recommended other smartphones, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone | 706 | 882 | 44% | 13 | 7 yrs107 owners | — |
| Fairphone | 168 | 107 | 61% | 13 | 3 yrs19 owners | — |
| Apple iPhone Pro | 144 | 155 | 48% | 12 | 4 yrs26 owners | — |
| iPhone 13 mini | 141 | 51 | 73% | 12 | 1.5 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| Apple iPhone 4This page | 27 | 18 | 60% | 9 | 5 yrs4 owners | — |
What people said
40 of the 47 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Jobs wasn't exactly wrong (the antenna worked OK if you didn't bridge it with your finger)”
“4 still shipped with buttons my mum could recognise.”
“The iPhone 4 was such a letdown...”
“the feel was off - it seemed too fancy and too easy to break or scratch”
“so few simple but beautiful products”
“it wasn't materially worse than any of the other phones of its era”
“holding it in your left hand caused problems for the antenna”
“Mine lasted forever and I think it was my longest lasting one.”
“Only iPhone 4 sticks out, 1 through 17 are all fine”
“all the detail, all the love, all the joy sucked out of it”
“It no longer feels like a sleek device of the future like the iPhone 4 did.”
“The width of the iPhone 4 was nearly perfect imo”
“The width of the iPhone 4 was nearly perfect imo.”
“the antenna was changed in the Verizon iPhone 4 (which came out later)”
“the iPhone 4 was great and I was a satisfied customer”
“the iPhone 4 was a great form factor”
“The iPhone 4 was perfectly sized”
“the flat back not only makes it susceptible to scratching, it makes it hard to pick up off of smooth surfaces”
“the iPhone's video was clearly better quality”
“Still the best form factor has the iPhone 4 in my opinion.”
“Apple enjoyed adding more complexity without true benefit”
“"You're holding it wrong" would beg to differ”
“Apple made a mistake here, and the takeaway should be that corporate hubris is real”
“16 years ago, June 8 (1) Apple released the iPhone 4”
“In my experience, iPhone 4 was better than iPhone 8”
“The iPhone 4 was not water resistant.”
“What about the one who designed the iPhone 4 antenna?”
“the iPhone really hit its stride with 4”
“me and clearly many others remember antennagate”
“it was the first mix of speed and features that made me and many many colleagues say”
“how bad the reception was in your iPhone 4, and how it ruined the experience of owning it”
“iPhone 4 and iOS 7 were the first ones that looked pleasant (don't confuse aesthetics with UX though)”
“still the best smartphone of that year and leaps ahead of it's closest competition”
“I loved the iPhone 4 format factor, but prefer more recent and larger editions for battery life and battery longevity.”
“The phone should have been designed such that it didn't have this problem”
“The difference was “hang on let me pull over” to “just do it live!””
“The "you're holding it wrong" iPhone?”
“The problem disappeared as long as you used a cell phone case.”
“The phone was faulty from a hardware design standpoint”
“the iphone 4 antenna was obstructed by normal holding of the phone”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.