Apple says it will release a software update for iPhone 12 owners in France, after regulators ordered it to halt sales of the phone over fears the device was violating strict radiation exposure limits.
“We will issue a software update to users in France to adapt to the protocol used by French regulators,” Apple says in a statement to Reuters. “We hope that the iPhone 12 will continue to be available in France.”
French regulators ordered a ban of iPhone 12 models earlier this week after testing the phone and finding that its specific absorption rate (SAR), the amount of radio frequency that a device absorbs into a body, exceeded European radiation exposure limits. Belgium said it would review French findingsand Germany, Italy and more countries said they would be monitoring the situation.
The iPhone 12 first went on sale in late 2020, but France’s ANFR regulator has been performing tests on more than 140 phones recently to ensure radiation standards are met.
Apple dismissed the claims, saying “this is related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a security issue” with the iPhone 12 itself. “The ANFR is preparing to rapidly test this update,” says Jean Noel Barrot, France’s digital affairs minister, in a statement to Reuters.
Concerns about the iPhone 12’s radiation levels and the sales ban in France emerged on the same day Apple announced its new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro phones launching on September 22.
