September 15, on the iPhone 12 radiation exceeded by many countries off the shelf, Apple finally made a response。On the same day, an Apple spokesperson said that it would release software updates for French users to make them comply with standards enforced by French regulators.。Since its launch in 2020, the iPhone 12 has been certified to meet or exceed all relevant regulations and standards worldwide.。

So far, the iPhone 12 radiation incident has finally come to an end。

Incident

On September 12, the French National Frequency Authority (ANFR) suddenly announced that the electromagnetic radiation value of Apple's iPhone12 mobile phone exceeded EU standards, and had asked Apple to temporarily remove the phone from the French market from the same day.。ANFR also notified Apple that it was required to fix the iPhone 12's radiation exceedance through a software update.。

According to the test results released by the regulator, the iPhone 12's limb specific absorption rate reached 5.74W / kg (watts / kg), exceeding the upper limit of 4W / kg stipulated by the European Union, and was determined by the testing agency to exceed the radiation standard。The specific absorption rate reflects the level of radiation absorbed by the body when exposed to electromagnetic radiation. Excessive radiation may affect human health, causing headaches, eye fatigue, shoulder and neck pain and other symptoms。

After the iPhone 12 was found to have exceeded the radiation limit, Apple quickly responded and expressed doubts about the regulator's unilateral test results。Apple said the company's iPhone 12, launched in 2020, has been certified as compliant with global radiation standards by a number of international agencies, and it has provided the French agency with several results of radiation tests done by Apple and third-party labs to prove the phone meets the standards and to question the agency's findings.。

In the face of Apple's challenge, Barrot, France's ministerial representative for digital affairs, was rather tough, saying on Platform X that Apple had a 15-day deadline to update the software of the phones in question to bring them into line with the standards.。If the US company does not take action to correct the defect, he could demand a recall of all models of Apple phones on the French market。

French radiation test results for iPhone12 quickly caught the attention of the rest of Europe。Countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have all said they will follow up on iPhone 12 radiation and maintain close contact with the French government。Germany's Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) warned Apple that the French investigation could lead to measures applicable to all EU member states.。

The iPhone 12 radiation incident has also gradually spread to Asia.。On September 17, South Korea's Ministry of Science, Technology, Information and Communications said publicly that it had asked Apple to submit a situation report on the radiation problems of iPhone 12 models.。In a press release, the department said that although the models currently sold in the Korean market, including the iPhone 12, comply with international standards related to electromagnetic wave safety and have passed conformity assessment certification, in order to eliminate national anxiety, the Ministry of Science and Technology has decided to require Apple to explain the situation in accordance with relevant laws.。

In the face of the growing radiation storm, Apple obviously doesn't want to be in trouble as the iPhone 15 goes on sale。According to media reports, Apple issued a reminder asking relevant technical support personnel to remain silent when consumers ask related questions and not to provide any information on their own initiative。

However, with the gradual fermentation of the incident, the pressure of public opinion on the apple side is increasing.。Not only will the company not be able to get out of its predicament, but it could also hit Apple's shipments in Europe this year.。Last year, Apple had about $95 billion in revenue in Europe and sold more than 50 million iPhones.。At a time when global smartphone shipments are sluggish, Apple can't afford to lose Europe, the business powerhouse。

From a business perspective, it's only a matter of time before Apple gets soft.。On Friday, Apple announced that it would release a software update for French users to eliminate the radiation problem identified by regulators.。Barrot said ANFR is preparing to quickly test the update and will lift the sales ban if it passes the test and the model meets the EU standards implemented in France.。

Is iPhone 12 radiation really dangerous?？

In fact, Apple's radiation storm is likely to be related to ANFR's overly stringent radiation testing standards.。

For the human body, when the human body is exposed to the electromagnetic wave of the mobile phone, the absorption of radiation by each part is also different.。For this reason, regulators typically measure the specific absorption rate (SAR) of radiation from electronic products in three parts of the human body that are often in contact with mobile phones to measure whether the product's radiation exceeds the standard - the head, torso, and limbs.。

The scene of head specific absorption rate measurement is that when the user is on the phone, the mobile phone is close to the ear, which will have a radiation effect on the human body;。

In the ANFR test, neither the head specific absorption rate nor the trunk specific absorption rate of the iPhone12 exceeded the European threshold, but in the measurement of the limb specific absorption rate, the value of the iPhone12 reached 5.74W / kg, which exceeds the upper limit of 4W / kg stipulated by the European Union, and is considered to exceed the radiation limit。

However, what people need to know is that ANFR's radiation testing of the iPhone 12 was carried out under extreme conditions in the laboratory。Under normal circumstances, the signal coverage of the city is relatively good, the normal electromagnetic wave level of the iPhone 12 will be much lower than the maximum recorded during the test, and the risk of exceeding the specific absorption rate of the iPhone 12 is very low。In this regard, even ANFR says on its website that laboratory measurements do not reflect what happens during normal use of the device.。

In addition, according to the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), only when the specific absorption rate of the head and trunk exceeds 20 W / kg, and the specific absorption rate of the limbs exceeds 40 W / kg, the hazard threshold specified by ICNIRP is reached。In other words, for the principle of hazard prevention, the EU's upper limit on limb specific absorption rate is only 10% of the hazard threshold given by health agencies.。In this regard, Barrot also admitted that the European testing standards are much lower than the testing standards of health agencies, in this particular case, iPhone 12 only slightly exceeded the standard。

In this way, the radiation risk of the iPhone12 to human limbs seems to be magnified, but can cause such a large public opinion in the short term, one is that Apple's consumer base is too wide; two is just in time for the end of Apple's autumn conference this stall, the heat is still。

In the face of layers of encirclement and suppression by major European countries, led by France, Apple did not love the war, and after several days of discussion, it quickly launched an update to the iPhone 12 to calm down as soon as possible.。This move is in line with the requirements of the European regulatory authorities, but also to minimize the impact of this negative incident, not too affect the iPhone 15 sales environment, it can be said that Apple has taken a good move this time.。