Does this story now have a happy ending? In a conflict with the French Agency Française Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR), comparable to the Federal Network Agency in Germany, Apple will now add an update for an old iPhone model intended for the whole EU. In 2023, the ANFF had threatened to impose a ban on sales for the iPhone 12, since tests had shown that the device would release electromagnetic radiation above the local limit values in certain situations.
At that point, the iPhone 12 was no longer up to date, but was even left off by the manufacturer – originally the device came onto the market in autumn 2020. Apple nevertheless reacted and only released an update for the iPhone 12, which should dispel the concerns of the Anf. The patch was finally accepted, but was only limited to France.
Brussels confirms France after two years
Now Apple has decided to roll out the update across the EU. The reason according to one Report of the AFP news agency: Brussels confirmed that the decision of the ANFR of 2023 was correct. The review had taken until August 19 of this year, not quite two years. In response to this, Apple will now only present an update for the iPhone 12 that implemented the changes developed for France for all EU citizens if you still have this device (or have lying in the drawer).
Because, according to the EU, the iPhone 12 does not correspond to the radiation protection standards without the updating. Apple itself continues to contradict the decisions of the ANFR and the European Union, but wants to respect it. Apple sees the problem, especially in the tests of the Anf. “Users can use their iPhone 12 with full trust as always,” said the group. The then responsible French minister Jean-Noel Barrot (2023 digital transformation, today outside/Europe) welcomed the decision to X.
No increase in performance away from the body
Apple had after the decision of the ANFR specially set up a websiteto explain that the ANFR test protocols are considered the problem, not the iPhone 12. Apple criticized that the ANF demands that the phone comply with the body-close SAR limit values even if it is not used directly on the body.
The solution: With the update to iOS 17.1, the operating system no longer automatically increased the power, even if the iPhone 12 is on a table when telephone. This will be the case throughout the EU in the future. Which version number of the update is still unclear, but iOS 18.7 is currently expected.
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