One of my first supervisors formerly worked a Motorola and explained that the retractable antenna on late 90's cellphones eventually morphed into a placebo. In

One of my first supervisors formerly worked a Motorola and explained that the retractable antenna on late 90's cellphones eventually morphed into a placebo. In the course of phasing out external antennas, the initial design had a fake antenna. However, by extending the fake antenna to its maximum, it turned on an high-gain amplifier. So while deceptive, it did improve reception. But later the retractable antenna served no function other than a placebo that reduced complaints about poor reception.