iPhone 12 sales halted in France because they emit too much radiation

globalnews.ca:

Apple has been ordered to stop selling the iPhone 12 in France after a government agency found it can emit high levels of electromagnetic radiation that surpass EU rules.

Don’t throw out your iPhones just yet, though. France’s Minister for Digital Transition says the measured radiation is still “significantly lower” than what scientists consider harmful to humans, and Apple can bring the smartphone model back into compliance with “a simple update.”

In addition to halting sales, the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) is calling on Apple to “implement all available means to quickly remedy this malfunction” in the iPhone 12. If it fails to do so, Apple will have to recall the iPhone 12, the agency said Tuesday.

The announcement was made the same day Apple unveiled its iPhone 15.

Apple has disputed the ANFR’s findings, and says it has sent the agency multiple lab results — carried out in-house and by third-party labs — showing that the iPhone 12 is in compliance with EU regulations.

The ANFR regularly tests mobile phones in the French market to ensure the public are protected from exposure to electromagnetic waves, the agency says. Recently, it tested 141 phones models, including the iPhone 12, and evaluated their specific absorption rates (SAR), a measure of how much energy is absorbed by the human body when exposed to an electromagnetic field.

The iPhone 12 failed one of the two key tests. When the iPhone was held in a hand or carried in a pocket, regulators measured an SAR of 5.74 watts per kilograms, higher than the EU standard of 4 watts per kilogram.

When the iPhone was carried in a bag or kept in a jacket, it was compliant with the EU benchmark of 2 watts per kilogram absorbed by the body.

The ANFR tests phones by