The iPhone 12 has been banned in France because of fears over the radiation it emits. So how do you work out what risk your phone presents and then reduce the health risk of using any mobile?
Cell phones communicate using radio frequency radiation, sometimes referred to as RF. It is a type of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. When you use a cell phone, the device emits RF radiation that is absorbed by your head and body. The level at which it is absorbed by your body, depends at least in part, on how you hold or carry the phone. The intensity of RF radiation emitted by your phones can also depends on factors such as the distance to the nearest cell tower, the phone model, and its power settings.
Some studies have suggested links between prolonged exposure to RF radiation and health issues and even an increased risk of certain types of cancer. However, the health authorities deem it is safe to use mobile phones, despite the concerns of some people.
The Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) is a way of measuring the amount of RF radiation absorbed by the human body when using a cell phone. Phone used to publish this information fairly prominently and I remember years ago asking the editor of a mobile phone magazine why they had stopped publishing SAR tables. He said that no one read them anymore - so they no longer published them.
A quick glance at the SAR tables shows that iPhones in general often tend to be the ones more commonly found at the higher end of SAR levels, although still within what are officially deemed 'safe' levels. But the RFSafe organisation warns that: "Relying solely on one SAR value for comparing cell phones can lead to an incomplete understanding of the potential radiation risks associated with a particular device. By only considering head SAR values, users may overlook the fact that the phone might emit higher levels of radiation in other use scenarios, potentially leading to increased exposure and associated health risks."
Nonetheless, if you see the SAR value as one measure of safety and want to minimise your radiation exposure by choosing the right type of mobile - here is a league table of the radiation emitted by different models.
This is the level of SAR emitted when putting the phone to your head as a percentage of the deemed safety limit. There is a dramatic different in the levels as a percentage of the safe limit, ranging from 11% to 79% depending on the make and model.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 | 11.8% |
Google Pixel 2 XL | 16.25% |
Samsung Galaxy A70 | 16.25% |
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G | 18.75% |
Worst and Best Performers | |
Apple iPhone Xs | 74.38% |
Apple iPhone 13 Mini | 74.38% |
Google Pixel 7a | 75.00% |
Apple iPhone 13 Pro | 75.00% |
Apple iPhone SE 3 (2022) | 75.00% |
Samsung Galaxy A13 | 79.38% |
So it is important to notice that all the phones operate within what are deemed to be 'safe' operating limits. But regulators have been known to get things wrong in the past (see the FDA approved opioid crisis in the USA ,for instance) and even if they have made correct decision based on current scientific knowledge, that understanding improves over time and it might be that the recommendations could change.
It is also noticeable that the iPhone 12 is not in the table for being the worst performer on SAR levels - so that the French may have discovered something others looking into this, have not or may have got their calculation wrong.
Wearing specific kinds of glasses might also increase the level of radiation absorption you head is vulnerable to. RF Safe says that wearing metal glasses may "alter radiation exposure, as demonstrated in SAR testing. The addition of metal near the antenna while a phone is transmitting close to the head can have negative effects, altering the pattern of radiation surrounding the head in a way that is not accounted for by the manufacturers because they do not do the tests necessary to assess the impact on a users radiation exposure."
If you are worried about reducing the radiation impact from your phone you can take a number of steps, including:
I personally use wired earphones in the hope it reduces radiation, although I have not seen any literature on this
Use a radiation blocking case
Don't sleep with it next to your head
Carry it in a bag or coat rather than in your pocket
Turn it off when not using (dramatic I know)
I have no personal experience of them - but I did find this phone case which claims to block radiation and may be worth looking at : https://www.rfsafe.com/product-category/quantacase/
Further Reading:
Cancer Research UK:
World Health Organisation: