iPhone 4S Reportedly Emits 3X The Amount Of Radiation As The Samsung Galaxy S III

(9:27 am PDT, Jul 18th 2012)

iPhone 4S Reportedly Emits 3X The Amount Of Radiation As The Samsung Galaxy S III

I bet you didn’t consider this feature when deciding between an iPhone 4S and an Android device such as the Galaxy S III. The company behind the radiation measurement app Tawkon has released a semi-disturbing infograph (which can be found at the bottom of this post) detailing the SAR (a measure of the rate at which energy is absorbed by the body when exposed to a radio frequency(RF) electromagnetic field) score of various popular smartphones.

Apple’s 4S was the second highest offender with a SAR level of 1.11 w/kg, coming very close to hitting the maximum SAR level allowed by the FCC (1.6 w/kg) and tripling that of the Samsung Galaxy S III. Samsung’s latest flagship device, the Samsung Galaxy S III, came in at the bottom of the totem pole (bottom equaling better) with a SAR score of 0.34 w/kg.

The level of radiation as well as the Specific Absorption Rate has long been a controversial topic in regards to smartphones and the effects these levels have on our bodies. There’s tons of conflicting reports out there, and it seems the only thing everyone can agree on is: no one knows exactly what kind of effects the non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation emitted by cellphones have on human tissue.

All we can do as consumers and health conscious human beings, is to be cautious of any level of radiation exposure. While the SAR levels and the maximum level set by the FCC are well below the level at which laboratory testing indicates adverse health effects could occur, it’s always better to err on the side of caution and limit your daily smartphone use — no matter which device you use.

For more information about SAR and how your phone ranks, check out the FCC’s links to individual manufacturers’ Web sites: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/specific-absorption-rate-sar-cellular-telephones

iPhone 4S Reportedly Emits 3X The Amount Of Radiation As The Samsung Galaxy S III

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Comment »

  • Larry Larson

    I would think who the carrier is would make more difference than the phone. CDMA only uses the minimum power needed to connect. The fact that this infograph makes no mention of which carrier each phone was using when measured means the data is suspect, since a key component is ignored.

    • http://asten77.myopenid.com/ MrGlitch

      uh, ALL cell phones only use the minimum power needed to connect. it’s kind of a core tenet in the entire concept of cellular.

  • SebaKL

    ohhh… so it’s a radiation… I suppose it had effect on the brain.. hence all the “interesting” comments I come across here, and other sites…. FINALLY an explanation.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joshua-Hernandez/100000115484025 Joshua Hernandez

    Leave this garbage off Cult of Mac, if I wanted to go to your secondary site, I would type in the URL. Seriously, it makes you guys look desperate for clicks. I like your website. Help me keep it that way.

    • ddevito

      get off the rag b1tch

      • Max_Kelman

        What? He has a point. I own a Nexus 7, Gnexus, 4S, iPad LTE I am a fanboy of Good shit done right before you try labeling me a fanboy. But I got to CultofMac to read Mac shit. If I wanted to go to CultofAndroid I would. Does CultofAndroid cross post Articles from CultofMac?

      • http://twitter.com/p13t3rm p13t3rm

        Strong words from a man who censors himself with l33t speak.

  • ddevito
  • Chris

    The FCC posts info on SAR: http://www.fcc.gov/guides/specific-absorption-rate-sar-cell-phones-what-it-means-you

    From this page, “There is considerable confusion and misunderstanding about the meaning of the maximum reported Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) values for cell phones (and other wireless devices). SAR is a measure of the rate of RF (radiofrequency) energy absorption by the body from the source being measured – in this case, a cell phone. SAR provides a straightforward means for measuring the RF exposure characteristics of cell phones to ensure that they are within the safety guidelines set by the FCC.

    Many people mistakenly assume that using a cell phone with a lower reported SAR value necessarily decreases a user’s exposure to RF emissions, or is somehow “safer” than using a cell phone with a high SAR value. While SAR values are an important tool in judging the maximum possible exposure to RF energy from a particular model of cell phone, a single SAR value does not provide sufficient information about the amount of RF exposure under typical usage conditions to reliably compare individual cell phone models. Rather, the SAR values collected by the FCC are intended only to ensure that the cell phone does not exceed the FCC’s maximum permissible exposure levels even when operating in conditions which result in the device’s highest possible – but not its typical – RF energy absorption for a user.”

    It is therefore wrong to jump to any conclusion using these numbers, and the headline of this article is highly misleading.

    • http://twitter.com/howie_isaacks Howie Isaacks

      It’s purposefully misleading. They’re just trying to get ad clicks.

  • http://twitter.com/howie_isaacks Howie Isaacks

    Big flippin deal! This “controversy” has been raging for 20 years, mostly fomented by ignoramuses who are more against technological progress they they are concerned about health. Where are the cancer patients who have PROVEN links to radiation from cell phones? We are bombarded every day from stellar radiation, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. Let the people who want to try and restrict our usage of technology go live someplace else and leave the rest of us alone.

  • http://twitter.com/kriswm BRAND | Photography

    But…what kind of radiation is it?

    Is it Alex Mack radiation, or is it The Hulk radiation? Cause I gotta say, despite the temper I’d rather be the invincible unstoppable incredible HULK. Bring it on iPhone.

  • http://twitter.com/CrunchDude Crunch

    Oh boy, here we go with this non-sense again…Does that mean we’ll see ads for the SGS III raving about how Samsung is better for your health? That, AND it’s got LTE!

  • 5imo

    Ohhh good article! What a load of shite if your trying to make a point make it. Clarify the use of the word radiation. A bit of word association for you, radiation: 3 mile island, Chernobyl, Fukushima; all incidences associated with of ionizing radiation the same thing to most people. Not what you are talking about with mobile phones, using such a broad word like radiation is severely misleading. Grouping in harmless microwave radio waves in with harmfull ionizing radiation leading to great confusion in peoples minds

  • http://www.facebook.com/wuchungfai Chung-fai Wu

    Will using Skype or Viper apps on smartphone to communicate reduce or eliminate mobile phone radiation ?

  • SNL90

    why are nokia not on the board? how can u all ppl forget about it. i am very interested on the result..

  • SNL90

    Of course we know tat iphone hav more radiation.. their reception are poor so they put in as much antenna as they can in it…

  • http://www.facebook.com/dbenari Doron Ben-Ari

    I will be glad if the writer or anyone else can help me finally get and answer to this question.
    I am trying to find out if Galaxy SIII has low or high radiation.
    If you look at the official Samsung SAR site http://www.samsung.com/sar/sarMain?site_cd=&prd_mdl_name=9300&selNatCd=US&languageCode=EN you will find these strange results:

    SII:
    UK: 0.338 W/kg
    USA: Head : 0.16 W/kg Body-worn : 0.96 W/kg

    SIII:
    UK: 0.342 W/kg
    USA: Head : 0.628 W/kg Body-worn : 1.584 W/kg

    Now of course the SAR units and limits are different in Europe than in USA, and those cannot be compared to each other. Nevertheless, how can it be that if you look at the European SAR you get to the conclusion that sIII has an extremely low SAR level, and when you look at the USA measurements you get to the conclusion that sII has an extremely low SAR level (almost as high as IPhone)?

About the author

Vincent MessinaVincent Messina has been writing and evangelizing about Android for the past three years. When he's not playing the part of "Loki" to his 5 and 4-year-old, he can be found here, covering all things Android. He adamantly believes Android has the greatest community around and can be harassed at any of the following locations: Google+, Twitter.

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