A few hours after Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, the French radiation monitoring authority (ANFR) issued… General statement Announcing that the iPhone 12 violates radiation levels. The watchdog notified Apple of the findings and told the company that it must temporarily halt iPhone 12 sales and issue a fix as quickly as possible. After releasing the iPhone 15, Apple stopped selling the iPhone 12 yesterday anyway.
“The French National Agency for Frequencies (ANFR) has instructed Apple to withdraw the iPhone 12 from the French market as of September 12, 2023, after exceeding the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) limit for this model,” the French agency wrote in a blog post. statement. “ANFR demands that Apple implement all available means to quickly address this defect. Failing to do so, Apple will be required to recall any units already sold.
More specifically, ANFR measures several specific absorption rates in its laboratories. The most common EU specific absorption rate (SAR) limit of 2 W/kg represents an average over 10 g of tissue that absorbs most of the signal. In layman’s terms, this is a good indicator of what’s going on in your head when you hold your phone to your ear. This limit is slightly higher than the FCC limit in the United States (1.6 W/kg). Apple complies with this SAR limit.
But ANFR also measured the absorption rate of the limbs, when you hold the phone in your hand or when it is in your pants pocket. In this case, ANFR measured a SAR of 5.74 W/kg, which is above the maximum of 4 W/kg.
On the business front, this isn’t as dramatic as it sounds, as Apple could roll out a software update to fix the issue. The company will likely try to find a software solution to avoid recalls.
This was stated by French Minister of State for Communications Jean-Noel Barrot Le Parisien Apple has a few weeks to comply with French regulations before taking any further action. But the timing of this interview is also interesting.
As follows INpact pointed outThis is not the first time that ANFR has identified a device with a problem related to radiation levels. But this is the first time a French minister has given an interview to a major newspaper when the National Research Agency makes its public announcement. All eyes are on Apple, so the French minister takes advantage of this opportunity to launch a media campaign.
Apple said Reuters And France Press agency The iPhone 12 has been certified by several international regulatory bodies as compatible. It has independent third-party laboratory results showing that it complies with all SAR standards around the world. The company plans to appeal the ANFR findings and engage with the agency to find a way forward.