Apple is threatening a recall of the iPhone 12 in France due to excessive electromagnetic radiation. To prevent this, a quick update is needed. Meanwhile, the company presented its new iPhone.
Because tests showed electromagnetic radiation above the limit values, a French regulatory authority is threatening to recall Apple’s three-year-old iPhone 12. The Agence Nationale des Frequences (ANFR) ordered that devices of the model must be removed from sales channels.
Apple has already been informed about this and has two weeks to respond with an update, said Jean-Noel Barrot, the minister responsible for the digital economy, to the newspaper “Le Parisien”. “If they don’t do that, I’m ready to order a recall of all iPhone 12s in circulation. The rule is the same for everyone, including the digital giants.”
France wants to make measurements available to EU states
In the laboratory, the ANFR reportedly carried out tests for electromagnetic radiation on 141 telephones. The authority tested the so-called specific absorption rate (SAR). It indicates how much radiation is absorbed by a body and thus heated. According to medical studies, excessive SAR from cell phones can promote certain types of cancer.
During the check 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. France will make the test results available to the rest of the European Union (EU), Barrot said. They could make similar decisions to his country. “That could trigger a snowball effect.”
The supervisors want to monitor a possible update from Apple. 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, wrote the ANFR. It applies to situations in which a phone is carried in a jacket or bag, for example.
New iPhone with USB-C port arrives amid China problems
There was initially no reaction from the company itself to the French authorities’ move. Yesterday Apple presented the next generation of its smartphone – for the first time with a USB-C port according to EU specifications. With the switch from the previous in-house “Lightning” format, future iPhones will be able to be charged with the same cables as most Android smartphones, notebooks or wireless headphones.
In addition, the more expensive Pro models of the iPhone 15 will stand out even more from the standard version this year. Among other things, you get a titanium housing and a new chip with greatly improved graphics performance, as the company announced. Making the more expensive Pro models more attractive is an effective way to keep sales high in a shrinking smartphone market.
The new version comes amid turmoil over a partial ban on iPhones in China and the unveiling of powerful competing products from Huawei. For Apple, the sales success of the new devices is crucial – they contribute more than half of the company’s annual sales of almost $400 billion. However, global iPhone sales are weakening. According to the industry service Counterpoint Research, sales in the second quarter fell from 294.5 to 268 million units within a year.