(GoRealNewsNow.com) – Big-tech giant Apple has unexpectedly run into trouble after regulators in France terminated its sales of iPhone 12 because the device produces too much electromagnetic radiation.
French radiation watchdog ANFR initiated the temporary ban on iPhone 12 sales, WIONews informs.
France’s junior minister for the digital economy, Jean-Noel Barrot, told Le Parisien, a newspaper, that tests conducted by ANFR had discovered Apple’s iPhone 12’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) to be slightly above the legally allowed limit.
According to the French radiation agency, accredited labs established that absorption of electromagnetic energy by the human body stood at 5.74 watts per kilogram when the iPhone 12 was held in hand or kept in a pocket.
The report indicates that the European Union standard for the specific absorption rate stands at 4.0 watts per kilogram in such tests.
As a result, ANFR “ordered Apple to remove the iPhone 12 from the French market from September 12”.
“Concerning phones already sold, Apple must, in the briefest of delays, take corrective measures to bring the affected phones into compliance. Otherwise, Apple will have to recall them,” the French government body said.
It added that as of Wednesday, September 13, its inspectors would be checking to verify whether Apple had paused the sale of its iPhone 12 in France.
According to Barrot, the radiation issues uncovered by the watchdog could be fixed simply with a software update.
“Apple is expected to respond within two weeks. If they fail to do so, I am prepared to order a recall of all iPhones 12 in circulation. The rule is the same for everyone, including the digital giants,” the French official said, as cited by Breaking911.
The halt of its iPhone 12 sales in France occurred on the day Apple held its annual event on new flagship devices in Cupertino, California.
On Tuesday, Apple announced it had begun to comply with the rules of the 27-nation European Union. Namely, its new iPhone lineup will no longer use the proprietary Lightning Port technology, replacing it with USB-C chargers.
Apple first began selling the iPhone 12 in France in 2020. It remains unclear how long the sales pause will be in place.