These Phones Emit The Most Radiation — Should We Care?
For most people nowadays, their smartphone is within arm’s reach 24 hours a day. It’s in their pocket while they’re at work, it’s in their hand on the train ride home and it’s on their bedside table as they sleep. With this level of proximity and usage, many can’t quite shake the niggling feeling that they might be risking damage to their health in the long run.
While conclusive research on the effects of cell phone radiation remains elusive (more on that later), for those looking to hedge their bets, this first infographic shows the phones that emit the most radiation when held to the ear while calling.
The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz) has a comprehensive database of smartphones and the level of radiation they emit. Following the criteria set for this infographic (see the footnotes), the current smartphone creating the highest level of radiation is the Mi A1 from Chinese vendor Xiaomi. Another Chinese phone is in second place — the OnePlus 5T. These two companies are represented heavily in the list, with 8 of the top 16 handsets being made by one of them. Premium Apple phones such as the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 8 are also here to be seen, though, as are the latest Pixel handsets from Google.
As I mentioned, conclusive research on the effects of this radiation is hard to find, and arguably, it doesn’t yet exist. Let’s have a quick look then at the current state of knowledge on the subject.
Getting some basics down first, the radiation emitted by mobile phones is electromagnetic, of which there are two main types:
1) Ionising: Like the kind you get from x-rays. Known to increase the risk of cancer.
2) Non-ionising: Utilised for example by microwave ovens. The only consistently recognised biological effect in humans is heating.
Mobile phones emit radio frequency radiation, which, you’ll be glad to hear, is non-ionising. However, while there is no proven link, there are still enough question marks that mean multiple expert organisations have refused to rule out the potential for a causal relationship between exposure and increased cancer risk.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, concluded in 2011 that: “there could be some risk”, and: “it is important that additional research be conducted into the long‐term, heavy use of mobile phones. Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands‐free devices or texting.” This sentiment has also been echoed by others since. For further reading, I recommend the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s detailed fact sheet.
As you’re still with me, you’re probably wondering which smartphones emit the lowest levels of radiation. Leading the way here are the Samsung Galaxy Note8 and the ZTE Axon Elite. As the next infographic shows, alongside Nokia, Samsung handsets feature prominently in this list, with five of the smartphones on the ranking coming from the South Korean company.
Clearly though, you won’t find a smartphone that does not emit radiation. So assuming you won’t be giving up on mobiles altogether, are there any guidelines for ‘safe’ levels of radiation? Not really, unfortunately. Nevertheless, the German certification for environmental friendliness, ‘Der Blaue Engel’ (The Blue Angel), only certifies phones which have a ‘specific absorption rate’ of less than 0.60 watts per kilogram. All of the phones featured in the last infographic are well under this benchmark — as are many others that didn’t make it onto the chart.
Find the source to this article here.
More infographics can be found at Statista.com.
