> Apple said it had provided ANFR with multiple Apple and independent third-party lab results proving its compliance with all applicable SAR regulations and standards in the world.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-disputes-french-fin...
In each case it was the lab using an incorrect methodology.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's what's happened here. There is a canyon of technical knowhow between RF engineers and testing labs.
Why aren't testing labs hiring RF engineers?
- companies engaged in government contracts would rather continue to be engaged in government contracts than have them be terminated
- politicians would prefer to say they spent your taxpayer dollars on something that caused a change which “benefited” you, rather than say they spent them on something that had no perceptible impact
- there exist technicians engaged in testing who believe the above two are true, and have the capacity to make micro-decisions in testbench setup that can affect the general bias of the results
That all said, based on the other commented here it seems french politicians took EU guidelines for 5mm exposure and demanded those same number at 0mm. So it really is the french politicians wanting to ban the phones.
If so, were they banned?
The bulk of replies to my comment are hilarious to read: ass-talking conspiracy theories presenting zero factual understanding of how RF regulation in the various markets takes place.
I do find this difference to be surprisingly large, it's not like the threshold is 4W/kg and Apple claims they measured 3.9 and France claims they measured 4.1... But what do I know.
For example, in my direct experience (not with phones, but networking gear), the way the product is placed in the test fixture and the way cables are dressed has an impact on emissions and measurements. In one scenario, as a product engineer supporting equipment through a certification lab, I had the mandate to pass with a 3 dB margin from the company I worked for, but, after days of testing and failing, it was decided that the equipment under test could pass with cables routed in a special way (which was not uncommon for normal customer use) and with quasi-peak detection (i.e. averaging the emission peaks) that ended up below the regulatory (FCC for example) passing below the regulatory mask/level by a fraction of a dB. I have always wondered whether a different test lab, without support from product engineers, would pass the same test. I think the answer in "no".
Edit: Quasi-peaking was not a dirty trick that was pulled to pass certification. It was an acceptable method of measuring emission power suggested by the lab technicians.
If I bring my car to the testing to the accredited testing company in Germany, they test the exhaust fume profile and give me a certificate if it’s within range. I cannot just run my own testing regime and self-issue that.
Apple wants to sell things in France.
Apple submits the devices to some France-certified labs who do the test.
They get an “OK” stamp, and the lab is responsible if there was a mistake in the testing.
If the labs belong to Apple, then there’d just be an obvious conflict of interest, right?
"Smartphone radiation tests have so far led to 42 sales stops in the country. It is the first time Apple has been affected by such a move."
From https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-disputes-french-fin...
(Q3)
>In the current state of knowledge, the Agency's work does not demonstrate a causal link between exposure to waves emitted by mobile communications and effects on health.
>However, some publications suggest a possible increase in the risk of brain tumors, in the long term, for intensive users of mobile phones, which is why the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) has classified radiofrequencies as “possible carcinogenic”.
>Furthermore, the latest ANSES expert opinions have revealed, with limited levels of proof, various biological effects in humans or animals, some of which had already been reported in a previous expert opinion published in 2009: they can concern sleep, male fertility in animals or even cognitive performance.
https://www.anses.fr/fr/exposition-ondes-electromagnetiques-...
So again, it's a different pov. And it's weird that no other country came up to the same conclusion as of now. Q7 is also funny as they recommend not using your phone a lot to avoid em exposure, which is true but in context is obviously implying that there is harm from said exposure.
The “some publications” nonsense would literally require overturning century-old radio physics. Some publications will always find everything to be carcinogenic; this is how statistics work.
In the real world, thermal radiation can’t ionise. (Cell phones may be carcinogenic due to their materials and the behaviours they induce.)
What ?
Having 2 doctor parents and some amount of experience in the field of hypnosis, I can say these sort of things happen all the time to people.
Now those same people are complaining if they only have a 3G connection because they're out of 4g range :)
5g isn't really a thing in the Netherlands yet because of some deal with Inmarsat that has a base station there and is worried about interference.
Of course, a company doesn't get that large by giving out money with no push back. Just some perspective.
It's even better because it's not available anymore exactly because of that reason :). You cannot get it in any (online) Apple Store, be it French or not.
Nobody in the government cares about the iPhone 12. And concerning the current government, I’m pretty sure they are all owning iPhones, they all would love a selfie with Tim Cook and don’t even know what DAS is.