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Hello.
The story is very funny and in every way connected with the spirit of our time, when vulgarity becomes the new norm. Let me remind you that it all started in France, where the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) issued a statement that the radiation of the iPhone 12 exceeded the permissible standards and therefore withdrew the device from sale. Required. The agency tested more than a hundred different models of smartphones in the laboratory that are commercially available in the country. For evaluation, a parameter such as SAR was used. We have discussed this many times, and in the press they either draw attention to it or completely forget it. It’s disappointing that this parameter is often used to label a phone as “harmful” or “safe”. In fact, SAR is a measure of how warm the body’s tissues are when the phone is in use, and is measured on a person’s head and when the phone is in a pocket. I wrote about SAR and “harmful” devices separately in detail, I highly recommend reading that text.
It happens that we know exactly the limit values ​​of radiation that are harmful to living organisms, for example, to humans. But no study has been done on the effect of radiation of orders of magnitude lower in power and there is no justification for its loss or reduction. In fact, we are faced with the fact that SAR is an indirect indicator that has no real justification. We needed to measure something, so we came up with SAR. There is no evidence to support the risk or safety of SAR values. We simply believe that the lower the SAR value, the better it is for the body. The measure of “damage” is speculative and there is no reason to believe it. Of course, we proceed from the global assumption that the lower the SAR value, the better.
Proceed. There are dozens of laboratories in the world that measure SAR values, often located at the manufacturers themselves. There are also independent laboratories that check this parameter when certifying models in a particular country or region. There is no single supplier of measuring instruments; In any case, it is collected independently by the laboratory. Also, the measurement methods are different, for example, at Apple a few years ago, when measuring the SAR value of the body, they held the phone close to it without creating a gap. Today the company has changed its procedure, creating a distance of 5 mm like other manufacturers (and this is correct because we wear clothes and the device is not close to the skin).
Every country in the world has created its own rules for regulating SAR, for example, in Russia this parameter is not taken into account at all, there are no measurements, and there are even no such laboratories. In Europe, there are SAR parameters that devices must comply with, but they are obviously higher than the actual SAR for all models; Everything out there is taken with multiple margins. In fact, it is a formal process through which any manufacturer undergoes a test.
In France, the iPhone 12 was measured and found to have a SAR limit of 4 watts per kilogram of fabric, with this model at 5.74 watts per kilogram. A noticeable excess, although in other tests, for example, in the head, no deviation was found. No deviations were found in all other models.
Here’s an interesting tidbit – the iPhone 12 uses a modem from Qualcomm, model X55. Exactly the same modem as in other devices of this generation, the design of the case is not different and one might expect similar results for the other 12 iPhones, but everything is fine there. We don’t have reliable information about how many copies of the iPhone 12 participated in the test, or how the data was cross-checked. And this is a question that remains unanswered. Usually the regulator tests on a phone, and for one reason or another it may have flaws or internal damage (one of the antennas easily fell off and got damaged, hence the high output power). But let’s say the French authorities did everything right, tested the heels of the iPhone 12 and got the same result everywhere.
Apple, unlike most manufacturers, has an iPhone certification program for operators. In every country in the world, the company charges operators (yes, Apple squeezes money from everyone without exception) to optimize iPhones to work on their networks. And here we can assume that the settings were made specifically for France so that the device works in difficult conditions when there is no network coverage. The version, obviously, is weak, but in theory it is possible. When transmitter power changes, no one repeats SAR studies; They are done once during certification.
But what confuses me about this story is that the regulator didn’t try to solve the problem privately, but immediately declared the iPhone 12 “damaged” and made a public scandal. . No one has discussed the issue publicly with Apple, and then the company issued an official statement saying that the iPhone 12 meets all standards, which have also been verified by independent laboratories. I’m not inclined to believe everything Apple says unconditionally; The company often deliberately manipulates words, and top managers tell outright lies. For example, Tim Cook, knowing that the company’s sales in China were weak, told shareholders that it was not, after which he was sued for misrepresentation. But the position of the French regulator in this case seems weak. For example, officials say their SAR measurement methodology is different from what Apple uses. This in itself is a considerable obstacle; You need to negotiate with the company and find common ground, but that hasn’t been done. Why?
The sense from the whole story is that the French wanted to raise a scandal and spread it as wide as possible. Someone thought the iPhone 12 was an old model, finally the iPhone 15 just came out, in fact the iPhone 12 is Apple’s best-selling device in Europe today, it’s basically one. The model that accounts for more than a third of Apple’s sales. Last year it was the iPhone 11, now it’s the 12th. And that model is critical to Apple’s business, and the French are trying to get it where it hurts. Apple’s sales are falling around the world, and a crisis is developing all around. The bet is placed on the basic models of the previous season; They should ensure unit sales. And then suddenly in France they do something like this.
Within Europe, regulators in other countries are adopting information from France and launching their own investigations; Germany and the Netherlands have already announced it; In Spain, the local consumer protection society plans to go to court to protect consumers. The story is not as unclear as it seems, even if Apple proves that everything is fine with the iPhone 12, the reputation will suffer, and information about the damage of the device will scare someone. will
It’s hard for me to imagine that one of the competitors is behind such a promotion; Samsung immediately comes to mind, but this is a very difficult game. Rather, the Europeans themselves, for some reason, want to put pressure on Apple; In recent years, they have repeatedly taken steps to increase indirect payments to American corporations in Europe to generate additional revenue (an IT business of this size simply does not exist in Europe). Perhaps the reasons for this demarche should be sought in this direction.
The fact is that the genie has been let out of the bottle and for some time now we will be hearing about the fight over the “disadvantage” of the iPhone 12. Blocking iPhone 12 sales in France is a drastic measure; This has never happened in history. So, Apple has been given two weeks to fix the problems, and in theory this could be done by updating the software, reducing the power of the transmitter. (Remember the antenna gate in the US? The main improvements at the time were in software, although the iPhone design was later changed).
Maybe someone decided to make a name for themselves on this scam; Officials are the same all over the world. But the reality is that it is strange to expect that the flaws were only found in the old device. In addition, incidentally, it is an important device for Apple. Even more surprising is that only one of the three measurements is out of the norm (the antennas are the same, the power is the same – it doesn’t happen). But if you don’t look for conspiracy theories, maybe it’s just a mess, a lack of staff competence, that they took measurements, and then someone decided to take advantage of the situation.
For me, there is no need to fear that the iPhone 12 is more vulnerable than other devices; It’s clearly just the same, it fits into the usual framework. And they are significantly lower than any level of radiation that could harm health in any way.
PS I hope after some time we will see the results of the action and the story will not be stopped. It will be interesting to see who will say what and also if the position of the French authorities will not change.
