French authorities leak iOS 17.1 launch date

The confusion over iPhone 12 radiation in France is about to be completely resolved with a software fix in iOS 17.1. As it turns out, the country’s National Frequency Agency has shared the expected release date of the first major iOS 17 update.

spotted before com.iPhoneSoft (via google translator), the National Frequency Agency (ANFR) of France participated Update on their website Today’s iPhone 12 position says iOS 17.1 will be available “by October 24 at the latest.”

Apple has developed a software update and has been validated by ANFR as it effectively brings the local “organ” SAR into compliance with the 4 W/kg regulatory limit. Apple has been distributing this update to some volunteer customers over the past few days (“beta testers”). The company has committed to rolling out this software update to all French iPhone 12 users by October 24 at the latest.

As previously shared, ANFR reiterated that “the ban on the marketing of the iPhone 12 will remain in effect in France until the effective rollout of this update to the general public.”

As a refresher, Apple revealed that the slightly elevated RF radiation in the recent French test had to do with an out-of-body condition allowing for increased power in the test while on-body performance produced lower levels that were not measured in the test. Check out our full coverage of that here and this is Apple’s explanation:

iOS 17.1 includes an update for the iPhone 12 for users in France to accommodate this specific testing protocol that requires low power when outside of the body on a stable surface.
iPhone 12 will no longer increase the power allowance when it detects an out-of-body condition, such as sitting at a table. As such, in coverage areas where cellular signal is low, this change in antenna transmit power may result in a slight decrease in cellular performance in some off-premises use cases. The vast majority of users are not expected to notice any effect.

New features with iOS 17.1

iOS 17.1 comes with updates like a new Apple Music preference feature, expanded AirDrop sessions, improved standby settings, Double Tap for Apple Watch Series 9 with watchOS 10.1, and more.