In the midst of the hangover from the presentation of the iPhone 15, Apple has received double bad news today. On the one hand, China claims to have found “security incidents” in the American company’s phones, and on the other, France has detected that the iPhone 12 exceeds radiation limits established by the European Union.
The consequence of the latter is that the ANFR (National Frequency Agency) has demanded the immediate and temporary stoppage of the marketing of that phone in the French market. And be careful, because if Apple does not remedy it, France assures that it will also withdraw the iPhone 12 that are already in circulation.
The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, in the spotlight
The National Frequency Agency (ANFR) is in charge of controlling the public exposure to electromagnetic fields produced by radio equipment. To do this, it periodically tests the devices sold on the French market.
They have recently tested 141 mobile phones for compliance with SAR limit values (specific absorption rate), or in other words, the rate of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the human body. It is expressed in watts per kilogram.
These phones, explains the ANFR, have been tested in an accredited laboratory, meeting the requirements established by European regulations.
And what are those requirements? That the equipment be tested in tactile contact (0 mm) for extremity SAR measurements (when the mobile is in your hand or pocket pants) and at a distance of 5 mm for body SAR (when the phone is in a jacket pocket or bag).
The values must not exceed the maximum limits of 4 Watts/kg for the limb SAR (limb-SAR) and 2 W/kg for the body SAR (body-SAR). The tests carried out by the ANFR to iPhone 12 show that the body SAR values do comply with the regulations, but the extremity SAR values are 5.74 W/kg and exceed the limit.
As the specific absorption rate (SAR) exceeds the established limits, the ANFR has required Apple to withdraw the iPhone 12 from the French market starting today, September 12. Regarding phones already in circulation, Apple “must take all necessary corrective measures” to ensure that they comply with the regulations as soon as possible (something that will be verified by the ANFR itself).
Otherwise, all equipment must be removed, and the French Minister of Digital Affairs has already warned that they will take the appropriate measures to do so. Nevertheless, from the Governmentthey wanted to reassure the population by saying that exceeding these limits does not necessarily pose a health hazard and that can be solved with a simple update.
In crast.net Mobile | This is how the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max look compared to the premium Android range