France had threatened to initiate a product recall if Apple refused to perform a software update
Paris:
French authorities have received a software update for the iPhone 12 from Apple and are investigating it as a solution to a radiation problem, a source at the French digital ministry told Reuters on Tuesday.
Apple promised to update the software to defuse a row over radiation levels from iPhone 12 handsets after France halted sales of the phones earlier this month following tests that the company said found violations of radiation exposure limits.
France had threatened to initiate a product recall if Apple refused to perform a software update.
Apple had previously disputed the French findings, saying the iPhone 12 had been certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global standards, but said on September 15 it would release a software update to address the testing methods used in France are used.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Paris’ move to suspend sales of the iPhone 12 phones had raised concerns in other European countries, including Belgium, which has also requested the software upgrade.
But the software update was limited to France, a Belgian industry regulator told Reuters in an emailed statement.
The Belgian regulator also said it expected more steps at European level after French authorities informed their counterparts about the solution and the fact that it is not generally available in the European Union.
French regulator Agence Nationale des Frequences did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Dutch digital watchdog also did not respond to a request for comment.
Italian authorities will wait for French deliberations on the Apple update before making a decision, an Italian government source said.
Researchers have conducted several studies over the past twenty years to identify the health risks of mobile phones. According to the World Health Organization, no adverse health effects caused by this have been identified.
The radiation warning in France was based on test results that differed from those in other countries.
Industry experts said there were no safety concerns because the legal limits, based on the risk of burns or heatstroke from the phone’s radiation, were well below the level at which scientists found evidence of harm.
Apple launched the iPhone 15 earlier this month and the iPhone 12 cannot be purchased directly from Apple. However, it can be purchased from third parties who have stock or trade in old phones.
Apple routinely provides software updates for its phones and computers, mainly to fix security issues. They can be targeted to a particular model or region, and sometimes Apple releases multiple updates per month.
The iPhone 12 update will be similar to all these regular software fixes. Apple pings iPhones for eligible software updates and users install them.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
