The US company Apple has announced a software update for French users of the iPhone 12. State supervisors had measured excessive radiation levels – and ordered a stop to sales.
Apple wants to avert an impending recall of the iPhone 12 in France with improved software. The update was intended to bring the excessive levels of electromagnetic radiation measured by French authorities below the limits, the US company announced today. “We look forward to iPhone 12 continuing to be available in France.”
A regulatory authority in France had previously criticized excessive radiation levels in the three-year-old model – and threatened a government-ordered recall. The determined exceedance of limit values is based on a “special test protocol,” Apple said today. The update should take the testing method into account and was not triggered by security concerns. It is internationally recognized that the iPhone 12 meets all limit values.
Limit value for direct physical contact exceeded
The French authority Agence Nationale des Frequences (ANFR) ordered Apple on Tuesday to stop selling the model introduced in 2020 in the country. According to Jean-Noel Barrot, the minister responsible for the digital economy, Apple has two weeks for an update that will be monitored by the supervisory authorities. If not, the iPhone 12s in circulation would also have to be recalled.
In the laboratory, the ANFR reportedly carried out tests for electromagnetic radiation on 141 telephones. It was found that the limit for direct physical contact – for example in the hand or in the pocket – was exceeded with the iPhone 12. Instead of the maximum permitted four watts per kilogram, it was 5.74 watts per kilogram. According to medical studies, too high a so-called specific absorption rate (SAR) of cell phones can promote certain types of cancer.
According to Minister Barrot, France wants to make the test results available to the other EU countries. They could make similar decisions to his country. “That could trigger a snowball effect.” In Germany, a spokesman for the Federal Network Agency has already announced that the proceedings in France have consequences for Europe as a whole: “If the proceedings in France are sufficiently advanced, the Federal Network Agency would examine a procedure for the German market.”
Supervisors welcome update and announce test
Now Apple wants to avert the threatened recall in France and thus also problems in other countries. The French authorities welcomed the update and announced that they would test it as quickly as possible. Belgian authorities made similar statements. They had also announced investigations into possible health risks for smartphone users.
However, the iPhone 12 complied with the limit of two watts per kilogram for radiation levels at a distance of five millimeters from the body. It applies to situations in which a phone is carried in a jacket or bag, for example. The French supervisors’ specific application scenario is not part of the European testing standard.