Regulators in France have deemed the Apple iPhone 12 safe once again, after banning it from sale this month due to radition emission concerns.
As per a Reuters report, the French watchdog is now satisfied that an Apple software patch has brought the 2020 phone in line with the country’s safety standards.
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Apple had responded to the issue, saying the phone was perfectly safe but specific French testing protocols that put the iPhone 12 over the limit. It promised to issue an update anyway to “accommodate the protocol used by French regulators”.
The issue was due to the iPhone 12’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), which pertains to the rate the body takes on the radio frequency when the phone is held to the ear or kept in the pocket for instance.
So how much radiation is too much radiation? Well the specific absorption rate for when the iPhone 12 held close to the body (i.e. in the pocket to held up to the ear) is apparently 5.74 watts per kilogram above the legal limit.
That led other European companies like Germany and Belgium to reassses the handset for themselves. Now the French have been appeased, Apple will presumably be clear to continue selling the phone once again.
“The National Frequency Agency (ANFR) has completed the verification of the update proposed by Apple for the iPhone 12,” the ANFR said today. “The tests confirm that this software evolution allows this device to meet the limit value of “member” localized SAR, and therefore to comply with the standards in force. ANFR has asked Apple to organize its deployment on all terminals.”
However, perhaps the real sigh of relief is avoiding the threat of a full recall in France, which would likely have led to millions of phones needing to be replaced. That would have been an almighty pain in le derrière.
