Apple limited the radiation of the iPhone 12, but not without compromises

The French regulatory body recently found that the iPhone 12 emits more radiation than is allowed in France. They demanded that Apple stop selling the phone in the country and threatened to recall phones that had already been sold if Apple did not fix the problem. Apple has denied the allegations, saying the iPhone 12 is certified by several international organizations as meeting global radiation standards.

However, in the same breath, Apple announced that it would release a software update for the iPhone 12 to comply with France's radiation requirements. In an official statement, they said that the issue will be resolved with the release of iOS 17.1, which will prevent the iPhone 12 from using more power when the device is in contact with static surfaces.

“iOS 17.1 vključuje posodobitev za iPhone 12 za uporabnike v Franciji, da bi ustrezal temu posebnemu protokolu testiranja, ki zahteva zmanjšano moč, ko je ta na statični površini,” piše na uradni strani za Apple podporo.

“iPhone 12 ne bo več povečeval dovoljene moči, ko zazna stanje izven stika s telesom, na primer, ko je na mizi. Tako lahko v območjih pokritosti, kjer je celični signal šibak, ta sprememba moči oddajanja antene povzroči nekoliko slabšo celično zmogljivost v določenih primerih uporabe. Večina uporabnikov naj ne bi opazila nobene spremembe,” piše v opombi. V vednost, kako je sploh prišlo do nastale situacije: Francoski državni organ za urejanje emisij radijskih frekvenc ANFR je testiral 141 telefonov iPhone 12 in ugotovil, da presegajo zakonsko omejitev za emisije sevanja v stiku s telesom.

Apple immediately noted that their phones use sensors that detect how close the phone is to the user's body and automatically adjust the radio signal strength so that it is not too strong. When the phone is not close to the user's body, such as when it is on a table, it uses slightly more transmission power. Apple said the French testing protocol did not account for this feature. They also tested the phones with a mannequin that the phones didn't recognize as human, and thus didn't adjust their radiation power properly.

Zdaj je Apple, da bi odpravil težavo, izdal posodobitev programske opreme, ki onemogoča tehnologijo zaznavanja telesa in zagotavlja, da telefon vedno deluje pri nižjih ravneh moči prenosa. “iPhone ima senzorje, ki zaznajo, kdaj je telefon na statični površini, kot je miza, in kdaj je v roki ali v žepu. Ta mehanizem zaznavanja, ki se uporablja v vseh iPhonih že več kot desetletje, omogoča napravi, da v tovrstnih scenarijih rahlo poveča moč prenosa, da optimizira zmogljivost.”

Apple je poudaril, da je iPhone 12 varen za uporabo tudi brez posodobitve programske opreme. Posodobitev je namenjena predvsem obravnavi zaskrbljenosti, ki jih je izrazil francoski regulativni organ. “Želimo, da vsi uporabniki iPhona 12 vedo, da je telefon varen za uporabo in je vedno tudi bil.”