Apple will issue a software update for the iPhone 12 “in the coming days” in response to a request from France’s ANFR regulator, the country’s digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The French government also welcomed the company’s move and said that the software update would be swiftly tested. “The ANFR (French regulator) is preparing to quickly test this update,” the French Digital Affairs ministry said in a statement. The ministry added that this should bring the model into compliance with European standards and allow France to lift the sale suspension. This means that once the update clears the test, Apple should be able to resume the sales of iPhone 12 in the country.
Earlier this week, the Agence Nationale des Frequences (ANFR) said that the iPhone 12’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) – a measure of the rate of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body from a piece of equipment – was higher than legally allowed.
After France raised the issue, Belgium too said that it would review potential health risks linked to the iPhone 12 in the wake of the French suspension. The country too welcomed Apple’s announcement of software update and that it would continue its own review of the phone and other models.
What Apple said on the software update
“We will issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the protocol used by French regulators. We look forward to iPhone 12 continuing to be available in France,” Apple said in a statement.
Apple, however, at the same time continues to contest the French radiation findings. The company maintains that the iPhone was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global standards. “This is related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern,” it said.