The affair caused a reaction even in the ranks of the government: the iPhone 12, banned for sale in France since September 12, can once again be put on the French market, announced the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) in a press release, published Thursday October 26. The ban is however maintained in the overseas departments, specifies the organization.
The withdrawal request followed, at the time, an observed exceeding of the limit values of electromagnetic waves emitted and absorbed by the human body, called “specific absorption rate” (SAR), on this model marketed by Apple since the end of 2020. Such a problem, which does not pose a real risk to health, can be resolved with a simple software update. At the end of September, the ANFR validated the fix proposed by Apple, which has been effective since the update of its iOS operating system (iOS 17.1) on Wednesday.
An exception for overseas departments
“This software development is not functional in the overseas departments, the withdrawal from the market of the iPhone 12 is maintained in these departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Reunion, Mayotte) as well as in Saint- Martin », details the ANFR. Apple updates operating systems by geographic region. “The other overseas territories (Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, TAAF, New Caledonia, Wallis-et-Futuna, French Polynesia) fall under other legal frameworks”adds the control body.
An independent laboratory commissioned by the ANFR had noted levels on the iPhone 12 reaching 5.74 watts per kilogram (W/kg) concerning the absorption of waves by the limbs (arms and legs) of users, while the maximum authorized threshold is set at 4 W/kg. Following the software patch proposed by the Apple brand, this SAR index fell back below this ceiling (3.94 W/kg).
Even if it had a particularly media impact, notably due to a speech by Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, this type of procedure is not exceptional. The ANFR, for example, ordered the withdrawal of other smartphone models in France for similar reasons. October 19. Over the past three years, around twenty defective mobiles in France have received corrective updates, among others from Samsung, Motorola, Xiaomi and Sony.