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Apple to stop bundling earbuds with iPhones in France (again)

By Mariyan Slavov

Updated: Jan 21, 2022, 7:46 AM

2comments

Apple

The strange case with Apple and French laws has taken yet another turn. Back in September last year, Apple was forced to include EarBuds inside every iPhone box in the country, in order to be compliant with a specific French law.

According to that law, all handsets sold in France must ship with an accessory that can limit the user's exposure of his head to radioelectric emissions while the phone is being used.

As you probably already know, Apple ditched the charger and earphones from the iPhone’s box with the iPhone 12 series back in 2020. Apple France had to pack iPhone 12 models in a separate box to include the earphones demanded by the French law.

The box-inside-the-box system

That box-inside-the-box system is now obsolete, as there is a change in the aforementioned law. According to the French site Consomac, "manufacturers of smartphones are no longer required to give headphones/hands-free kits in France."

Resellers of smartphones in the country reported that they have stopped bundling earphones with devices from January 17th, with Apple expected to start selling barebone iPhones (only a Lightning to USB-C cable included) again from January 24th.

Do you really need earphones to limit your RF exposure?

People are generally concerned about everything that involves “radiation”, and there are plenty of misconceptions flying around, especially when it comes to smartphones.

First, smartphones emit radiation in the radio frequency range - a type of non-ionizing radiation that also doesn’t carry too much energy.

Second, there’s a specific parameter called SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) and it’s regulated. The FCC limit for public exposure from cellular telephones is an SAR level of 1.6. Most modern smartphones fall into this category with SARs below that threshold (check out Statista’s graphs below).

Now, before Motorola Edge users start to panic, there’s no correlation between the RF frequency, emitted by smartphones, and any health issues whatsoever, according to the FDA.

Here are some key points taken from FDA’s official site:

Cell phones emit low levels of radio frequency energy, a type of non-ionizing radiation.
The available scientific data on exposure to radio frequency energy show no categorical proof of any adverse biological effects other than tissue heating.
Public health data show no association between exposure to radio frequency energy from cell phone use and health problems.

So, to answer the question shortly, no - you don’t need earbuds to protect yourself from your smartphone’s radiation. Again, quoting the FDA: “There is no established health benefit from reducing an individual’s RF exposure from cell phones.” Simply put, you don't need to worry about not using earbuds and getting health problems as a result.

However, spending too much time on your phone might have other health implications. Many scientific studies show that gluing your phone to your hand could cause a range of problems, varying from risk of obesity to mental issues. Radiation poisoning is not one of them, though.

Our take

The poison is in the dose, as they say. If you want to live generally healthier life, you should strive for balance. Quitting your smartphone won't do any good, you'd probably rebound heavily, and the social isolation won't help either. That being said, zombie-scrolling Facebook for hours can't be good for your health, right?

Back to the earphones issue. If we leave aside the health aspect, any bundled accessory is better than no bundled accessory at all. Apple faced heavy criticism when the company decided to ditch the charger and earbuds for environmental reasons, and our poll showed that people didn't buy into the green idea.

What do you think about Apple removing the charger and earphones from the iPhone 12 boxes?

Corporate greed, nothing more

83.58%

It makes perfect sense and I support the decision

16.42%

The worst part is that other companies are starting to take page from Apple's book and ride the "Eco" wave, removing accessories and features from their products, without adjusting the price accordingly (most of the time).