Apple will update the iPhone 12 in France after regulators raised concerns over electromagnetic radiation emitted by the devices, the country's digital minister and the firm said on Friday.
France had ordered a halt to sales of the device, released in 2020, on Tuesday after finding that the model emitted more electromagnetic waves than permitted.
The French watchdog ANFR recently tested 141 cellphones and found that when the iPhone 12 is held in a hand or carried in a pocket, its level of electromagnetic energy absorption is 5.74 watts per kilogram – higher than the EU standard of 4 watts per kilogram.
"Apple has assured me that it will implement an update for the iPhone 12 in the next few days," said France's digital minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
Both the firm and Barrot insisted there was no danger to public health from the radiation.
Apple denies 'any safety concern'
"This is related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern," Apple said in a statement, adding that the device complied with rules on emissions all around the world.
"We will issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the protocol used by French regulators."
On Tuesday, Barrot gave the US tech giant two weeks to issue an update to its phone, which was coming to the end of its career as a frontline Apple product.
L’ANFR demande à @Apple de retirer du marché français l’iPhone 12 à compter d'aujourd'hui, le 12 septembre 2023, suite à un dépassement de la limite de DAS constaté sur ce modèle. pic.twitter.com/LwftcARBJO
— ANFR (@anfr) September 12, 2023
He said the ANFR, would quickly assess the update and he would then decide whether to lift the ban on sales.
The World Health Organization has said several studies have been conducted in the field and "no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use".
Its cancer research arm classifies smartphones as "possible" carcinogens, putting them in the same category as coffee, diesel fumes and the artificial sweetener aspartame.
