Apple will release a special software update for iPhone 12 owners in the 27 EU countries to reduce radiation levels to levels that meet European regulations. The company made the decision after the European Commission supported France’s demand to stop sales of the device and bring it into compliance with safety standards.
Apple will release a special software update for iPhone 12 owners in the 27 EU countries to reduce radiation levels to levels that meet European regulations. The company made the decision after the European Commission supported France’s demand to stop sales of the device and bring it into compliance with safety standards.
According to MacRumors, the updates will be rolled out in the coming weeks. This is essentially a repeat of the step Apple took in France back in September 2023, when the regulator Agence Française Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR) found that the permissible level of absorption of electromagnetic waves by the body (SAR) was exceeded. At that time, the company was required to stop sales and update the firmware for devices already sold.
Apple continues to believe that the French testing methods were flawed because they did not take into account the automatic «off-body detection» feature, which reduces radiation when the phone is not pressed against the body. However, the corporation agreed to adhere to the position of the European Commission. «We disagree with the testing methodology, but respect the decision and confirm that users can continue to safely use the iPhone 12,» the company said in a statement.
The European Commission, in turn, called France’s actions justified. This means that Apple was forced to apply the fix simultaneously to all countries in the bloc to avoid repeating local bans in the future.
SAR standards determine the maximum permissible level of electromagnetic energy that the user’s body can absorb from a smartphone. In the EU, this indicator is stricter than in many other countries. The scandal surrounding the iPhone 12 has become a case in point: even technology giants are forced to adapt their devices to the requirements of national and supranational regulators. In the future, this may affect the development of new iPhone models and other gadgets, as the issue of electromagnetic safety is increasingly becoming a subject of public attention.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Apple officially confirmed the date of its annual presentation of new products. The event will take place on September 9, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. Kyiv time. The premiere of several device lines is expected at once, including the iPhone 17.
