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Apple warns iPhone 12 users to keep them away from medical devices


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    I've always heard to keep cell phones away from medical equipment in hospitals. I remember the days of being told to turn off my phone in a hospital room. But that was due to signal, this is due to magnets inside the iPhone 12 that could interfere with pacemakers and defibrillators. MagSafe is the technology inside the latest iPhone models, which enables wireless charging, and various accessories to be clipped onto the back of the phone. The new models contain more magnets than prior ones. Apple warned that the electromagnetic fields emitted by this technology could potentially pose a risk to medical equipment. This is in reference to all iPhone 12 devices.

    “Medical devices such as implanted pacemakers and defibrillators might contain sensors that respond to magnets and radios when in close contact,” Apple explained in a product safety notice published to its support page.

    “To avoid any potential interactions with these devices, keep your iPhone and MagSafe accessories a safe distance away from your device (more than 6 inches/ 15cm apart or more than 12 inches/ 30cm apart if wirelessly charging)."

    Yikes, is all I have to say. Hopefully no cases come from this. Can you think of any other things that interfere with medical devices?

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    Apple is a $2 trillion dollar company and nobody thought about this ahead of time?! It's not like pacemakers and defibrillators are brand new inventions or anything.

    Heart.org has a good list of what does and doesn't interfere with pacemakers. A few interesting ones that popped out to me are ab stimulators, electronic body fat scales, electrical pet containment systems, and portable car battery chargers.

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    Perhaps they weren't aware of MagSafe's capabilities. That's what I'm thinking is that it was just a slight oversight on their part.