Almost 48 hours after asking Apple to withdraw from sale its iPhone 12 smartphone, released in 2020, the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) provides details of this decision which caused a lot of noise.
First of all, only the iPhone 12 is affected. The iPhone 12 Mini, Pro and Max versions “comply with the requirements of the European market” on wave emissions, as well as the other smartphones of the American brand.
Also read What should I do if I have an iPhone 12, pinned for too high wave emissions?
In addition to Apple, on its website and its Apple Stores, all distributors in France must respect this suspension of sales. “Repackagers are distributors, therefore they are required to apply the provisions”, and this “even in the absence of instructions from Apple”, specifies the agency.
“ANFR controllers will ensure that the iPhone 12 is effectively removed from all points of sale, in stores and online.” Most second-hand players, such as Back Market, Easy Cash or SMAAART, have already acted during the day on Wednesday.
Apple has 15 days to propose to the ANFR a software update which will bring the “specific absorption rate” (SAR) of its phone below the regulatory thresholds. It will be examined within another fifteen days by an accredited laboratory. “If these corrective measures make it possible to make the phone compliant, the temporary withdrawal from the market will be lifted,” explains the agency. Otherwise, “ANFR will require Apple to recall all iPhone 12s sold on the French market.”
Since 2017, the frequency agency has already blacklisted around forty smartphone models from Wiko, Huawei, Nokia, Motorola, Xiaomi, One Plus, RealMe, Logicom, Essentiel B and Samsung. These decisions generally go unnoticed by consumers. Issues with thresholds being exceeded have been addressed through software updates.
This was not the case in 2021 for the Razer Phone 2, which had to be permanently withdrawn from the market. A similar sanction was imposed in 2019 against the Leagoo S8 and the Allview X4 Soul Mini, and in 2020 against the Echo Horizon Lite.
