Apple to update iPhone 12 software in France to settle radiation row
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[September 15, 2023] By
Elizabeth Pineau
PARIS (Reuters) - Apple said on Friday it would issue a software update
for iPhone 12 users in France to settle a row with regulators that
ordered the suspension of the phone's sale due to breaches of radiation
exposure limits.
The French government welcomed the move and said the software update
would be swiftly tested and should allow for sales of the relatively old
model, launched in 2020, to resume.
Belgium, which said on Thursday it would review potential health risks
linked to the iPhone 12 in the wake of the French suspension, also
welcomed the move but said it would continue its own review of the phone
and other models.
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 Organization, no adverse health effects have been
established as being caused by them.
"We will issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the
protocol used by French regulators. We look forward to iPhone 12
continuing to be available in France," Apple said in a statement.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Sep/15/images/ads/current/rainbowgutter_sda_FHG_2023.png)
Apple, however, continued 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.
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 and allow France to lift the
sale suspension.
Apple routinely provides software updates for its phones and computers,
mostly to fix a security issue. They can be focused on a particular
model or a region, and sometimes Apple issues such updates several times
in a month.
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![](../images/091523PIX/busine74.jpg)
An Apple iPhone 12 is pictured in a mobile phone store in Nantes,
France, Sept. 13, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
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The Agence Nationale des Frequences (ANFR) said on Tuesday the
iPhone 12's Specific Absorption Rate (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 the sale
suspension.
Industry experts said there were no safety risks as regulatory
limits, based on the risk of burns or heatstroke from the phone's
radiation, were set well below levels where scientists have found
evidence of harm.
"Ultimately I suspect the whole incident will be quickly forgotten,"
said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, highlighting that the
iPhone 12 is an old model.
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 totaled about $95 billion in Europe last year,
making the region its second biggest behind the Americas. Some
estimates say it sold more than 50 million iPhones last year in
Europe.
The U.S. company does not break out its sales by country or model.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Tassilo Hummel; Additional
reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Supantha Mukherjee; Writing by
Ingrid Melander; Editing by Mark Potter)
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