Apple to roll out iPhone 12 software update to address radiation concerns

Last week, France suspended sales of iPhone 12 across the entire country citing concerns over the radiation levels emitted by the handset. It was certainly a surprise not just for French Apple fans, but for the Cupertino-based company too.

Typically, international regulatory bodies are testing the new iPhones before they’re actually released on the market, and there’s no doubt that this has happened with the iPhone 12 as well. However, the radiation warning in France is based on results of tests that are quite different from those that were executed in other countries.

Although Apple contested the results of France’s Agence Nationale des Frequences, which said last week that the iPhone 12’s SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) was higher than legally allowed, the company said over the weekend that it will address the issue via a software update, Reuters reports.



The new software update is specifically designed comply with the testing methods used in France, whichever those might be. Despite the vast number of studies that have been conducted over the last 20 years, which found mobile phones relatively safe devices that are unlikely to cause any adverse health effects, it looks like France has found a new methodology to test these devices.

Curiously enough, the iPhone 12 is the only device that seems to be the culprit, at least until now. After the announcement coming from France, multiple European countries expressed their concern about the issue and have asked Apple to address the problem.

Alongside France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Denmark are just some of the EU countries that are waiting for Apple to release the promised iPhone 12 update. Until then, the iPhone 12, which was launched on the market about 3 years ago, is no longer selling in France.