Apple has to stop selling the iPhone 12 in France due to too much EMF Radiation.

[WolframaticAlpha]

On 9/16/2023 at 4:41 AM, HenrySalayne said:

radio waves

THz radio waves... wouldn't be radiowaves. 

 

Also as someone has been screaming at the top of their lungs, your phones radiowaves don't have enough power to cause much damage...

 

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2014/pp/c3pp50451d

It takes 45 minutes of direct radiation on a petri dish to record a response. Suffice, that unless you are a 1.5-2m firefly cell, moving from one place to another another, all the while using a phone made in chernobyl, the chances of you getting cancer are exceedingly small. Still limits exist to be in the safe side. Note, that the study doesn't mention that the DNA structure had changed, just that the cell registered a change. That is because non ionising radiation fundamentally doesn't have enough energy to eject an electron or an atm from a molecule, much less a heavily (hydrogen?) bonded chain structure.

[Obioban]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213923

 

In iOS 17.1 Apple will turn off a feature in France that allows the iPhone to transmit at a higher power level when on a table then when held or in your pocket, bringing it in line with French law.

 

In all other countries, the feature will be left as is.

 

Quote

iPhone has sensors that can detect when it is sitting on a static surface, like a table, as opposed to being held in the hand or placed in a pocket. This off-body detection mechanism, which has been used in all iPhones for over a decade, allows the device to increase transmit power slightly in off-body scenarios to optimize performance.

The specific test protocol used by ANFR requires that devices meet the on-body SAR limits, even when the device is tested off-body on a static surface. This decision is not consistent with international standards, which allow for independent testing of power control mechanisms that may not be activated during standard SAR tests.

 

[HenrySalayne]

7 hours ago, Obioban said:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213923

 

Apple will turn off in iOS 17.1 a feature in France that allows the iPhone to transmit at a higher power level when on a table then when held or in your pocket, bringing it in line with French law.

 

In all other countries, the feature will be left as is.

OMG. Apple sounds exactly like Volkswagen with their illegal defeat devices.

 

And I quite frankly have no clue why a phone sitting on a table and not being used should use a higher power level. Where is the logic here?

[Paul Thexton]

5 hours ago, HenrySalayne said:

And I quite frankly have no clue why a phone sitting on a table and not being used should use a higher power level.

Higher chance that you can still send/receive messages in a poor signal area. Presumably. 

[Obioban]

8 hours ago, HenrySalayne said:

OMG. Apple sounds exactly like Volkswagen with their illegal defeat devices.

 

And I quite frankly have no clue why a phone sitting on a table and not being used should use a higher power level. Where is the logic here?

Radiation levels are inversely proportional to the square of the distance. So, if the phone is twice as far from you, you receive a quarter of the radiation from it. If it's on a table, it's further from you, so more power can be used for better reception.

[dalekphalm]

10 hours ago, HenrySalayne said:

OMG. Apple sounds exactly like Volkswagen with their illegal defeat devices.

Not at all the same situation, but alright.

10 hours ago, HenrySalayne said:

And I quite frankly have no clue why a phone sitting on a table and not being used should use a higher power level. Where is the logic here?

How do you know the phone isn't being used? You never use your phone while it's sitting on a table or propped up against a book or something?

 

Lots of people will watch videos or read messages with their phone on the table (or, as @Paul Thexton mentioned, just sending/receiving messages).

 

Also as noted by @Obioban, the farther away the device is, you receive exponentially less radiation.

[Holmes108]

Yeah, instead of saying it uses more power away from your body, if you just spun it to say it'll use less power when next to your head, just out of an (over)abundance of caution, this could just as easily be seen as a good feature. The devil's in the details. But that doesn't make for good headlines/engagement. 

[HenrySalayne]

9 hours ago, Paul Thexton said:

Higher chance that you can still send/receive messages in a poor signal area. Presumably. 

It has absolutely no influence on your ability to receive anything, that's for sure.

6 hours ago, Obioban said:

If it's on a table, it's further from you, so more power can be used for better reception.

Nope.

5 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

How do you know the phone isn't being used? You never use your phone while it's sitting on a table or propped up against a book or something?

That's not using the phone in a way that would make a small bandwidth bump in the upload direction necessary.

 

I can only imagine two edge-case scenarios in which this would make sense:

- calling someone with borderline bad reception - the slight boost might tip it over the noise floor so there are less interruptions of the call.

- using a videochat and enabling slightly better upload video quality compared to holding the device in your hands.

 

While negatives are:

- increased EMI disrupts other wireless technology in the vicinity.

- increased battery strain.

- inconsistency - you put the phone down - the person you were calling can hear you - you pick the phone up again - the person can no longer hear you - you put the phone down - ...

 

 

Since this functionality isn't very useful nor necessary in most everyday situations, it's no loss for the French people.

However, artificial cell speed tests might see a noticeable bump from this feature. Reminds me of the Android phones with artificial benchmark modes to boost those numbers.