Apple will issue a software update for iPhone 12 users in France to resolve a row over radiation exposure limits.
Key points:
- The French radiation watchdog had said the iPhone model’s specific absorption rate was higher than legally allowed
- Apple contests the findings, saying the iPhone was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global standards
- The French government welcomed the move and said the update would be swiftly tested and should allow for sales to resume
The French government had banned the iPhone model over advice from the nation’s radiation watchdog that the model’s specific absorption rate (SAR) was found to be higher than legally allowed.
The government welcomed the move and said the software update would be swiftly tested and should allow for sale of the model, launched in 2020, to resume.
“We will issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the protocol used by French regulators,” Apple said in a statement.
“We look forward to iPhone 12 continuing to be available in France.”
Apple continues to contest the French radiation findings, saying the iPhone was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global standards.
“This is related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern,” it said.
Meanwhile, Belgium said it would continue its own review of the phone and other models despite the update.
Researchers have conducted a vast number of studies over the last two decades to assess the health risks of mobile phones.
According to the World Health Organisation, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by them.
French Digital Affairs Minister Jean Noel Barrot, who has been in contact regularly with Apple over the past days, welcomed the software update.
“The ANFR (French regulator) is preparing to quickly test this update,” his ministry said in a statement, adding this should bring the model into compliance with European standards.
On Tuesday, the watchdog found the SAR — a measure of the rate of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body from a piece of equipment — was higher than legally allowed, which prompted suspended sales.
Industry experts said there were no safety risks as regulatory limits, based on the risk of burns or heat stroke from the phone’s radiation, were set well below levels where scientists have found evidence of harm.
Apple routinely provides software updates for its phones and computers, mostly to fix security issues.
Apple launched the iPhone 15 on Tuesday and the iPhone 12 is not available to buy from Apple directly.
It can, however, be bought from third parties that have inventory or trade old phones.
A bigger issue than the sale suspension would have been a potential recall, which France had threatened if Apple had refused to do a software update.
Apple’s revenues totalled about $US95 billion ($147 billion) in Europe last year, making the region its second biggest behind the Americas.
Reuters