Apple has announced plans to address concerns regarding radiation emissions from the iPhone 12 in compliance with France’s radiation testing requirements. The company has developed an update that will prevent the iPhone 12 from using excess power when in contact with static surfaces, addressing the issue raised by French regulators.
France had previously suspended sales of the iPhone 12, claiming that the device emitted radiation exceeding permissible levels. However, Apple has contested these findings, asserting that the testing protocol used by L’Agence Nationale des Frequences did not consider a critical feature present in iPhones for over a decade.
In a detailed article posted on its website, Apple explained that iPhones have long included sensors to detect proximity to a user’s body, regulating transmission power levels accordingly. When the phone is not in close proximity to a user, such as when placed on a table, it uses slightly higher levels of transmission power.
Apple clarified that the French testing protocol failed to account for this body-detection feature. To address this, the company is releasing a software update, set to be broadly available to users in France this month, that disables the body-detection technology. This update will ensure that the iPhone 12 operates at lower transmission power levels consistently.
Despite the concerns, Apple emphasized that the iPhone 12 is safe to use even without the software update. The company reasserted that the iPhone 12 had initially been certified to meet applicable global energy transmission regulations and standards when it was first introduced in 2020, and no alterations had been made since then that would affect energy transmission.
