As Apple was unveiling the iPhone 15 yesterday, parties in the EU were working to have the iPhone 12 banned.
French watchdog group Agence Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR) claimed the three-year-old phone exceeds legal radiation exposure limits.
According to Reuters, consumer groups in Germany and Spain were also concerned with the iPhone 12 for the same reason.
In France, the ANFR requested a sales halt on iPhone 12 units and even threatened a recall of Apple and other vendors didn’t comply.
Unsurprisingly, Apple disagrees that its iPhone from 2020 suddenly has a radiation exposure problem. Here’s how Reuters portrays Apple’s denial:
Apple said in a statement the iPhone 12, launched in 2020, was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global radiation standards, that it had provided several Apple and third-party lab results proving the phone’s compliance to the French agency, and that it was contesting its findings.
So what happens next? French regulators expect a software update to address their concerns. Failure to do so could result in a physical recall.
And technically, Apple did drop the iPhone 12 from its lineup yesterday, but only because the iPhone 13 moved down the line and pushed it out.
That also doesn’t mean that the iPhone 12 won’t still be available to purchase from other vendors. Apple will need to resolve whatever the concern is one way or another.
Personally, my biggest curiosity is why now? If the iPhone 12 didn’t comply with radiation standards, wouldn’t it be a failure of these regulators to only notice now?
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