Apple: Magsafe on the iPhone 12 may interfere with pacemakers and cardiac defibrilators

Apple fanboys will readily admit the iPhone sits close to their heart, such is the level of affection they hold. That said, if they've got a pacemaker or implanted defibrillator, you'd best hope they're speaking figuratively. The latest warning that the MagSafe adaptor on the iPhone 12 may interfere with these medical devices …

[Elledan]

One can suspend MacBooks with a magnet too

One thing which I always found fascinating since I first began to use MacBooks (for an iOS development job, that is), is that I quickly found out that you can trigger the lid sensor in a MacBook by putting a phone or magnet on the palmrest.

The Hal sensor Apple uses for that purpose is apparently sensitive enough that even the relatively weak fluctuating EM field of a phone (iPhone or Android phone) was enough to put the MacBook into standby. Put phone on left side of the palmrest, watch MacOS check out. Also a delightful prank to pull off at the office, especially during a meeting :)

It appears that pacemakers use similar Hal sensor technology, which would result in a similar standby mode when exposed to the stronger MagSafe field. Real shame that humans aren't as good as MacBooks at returning from standby mode, though.

[Danny 2]

Re: One can suspend MacBooks with a magnet too

Real shame that humans aren't as good as MacBooks at returning from standby mode, though.

Have you tried turning him off and on again?

My dad has a pacemaker so isn't allowed in the kitchen when the microwave is on, on doctors orders. Engineers here have claimed that is paranoid, but I doubt they are medically qualified to diagnose paranoia.

My octogenarian parents are getting their first Covid vaccine later this week. Assuming they survive that long. Their attitudes are telling. My dad is angry he wasn't the first person to get a vaccine. My mum doesn't want hers and thinks it should be given to an NHS worker.

Me, I'm herding cats.

[Dave 126]

Re: One can suspend MacBooks with a magnet too

> isn't allowed in the kitchen when the microwave is on, on doctors orders. Engineers here have claimed that is paranoid,

Malfunctioning microwave ovens are not unheard of. It is possible, for example, for the door latch switch to malfunction, allowing the device to emit radion even without the door being completely closed.

That said, the biggest heart health issue associated with microwaves is that they encourage the consumption of ready meals. Since vegetables produce bitter-tasting compounds after they are cut, a ready meal requires more sugar and salt to taste acceptable than a meal you've prepared by chopping your own vegetables. There is also some evidence to suggest that the act of cutting vegetables and activity preparing food causes your body to anticipate the coming meal, and thus digest it in a healthier way.

[jmch]

Re: One can suspend MacBooks with a magnet too

"Since vegetables produce bitter-tasting compounds after they are cut, a ready meal requires more sugar and salt to taste"

Except that you'd be lucky to have real sugar used - mostly they use glucose-fructose syrup or similair as a sweetener, which is an abomination for health (but hey it's cheap for the manufacturer). Also, since ready-meals are designed to have as long shelf life (so it's cheaper for both manufacturer and retailer), they are mostly stuffed with preservatives. And because in modern food business, consistency trumps quality, they're usually also stuffed with colorings and flavour enhancers, because we don't want any of the pesky natural variability in the flavour and colour of ingredients, do we?

[EricB123]

Re: One can suspend MacBooks with a magnet too

I used to eat ready meals (called frozen convenience food here in the states) for lunch every workday. Then I tried making my own lunch from fresh vegetables the night before. What an improvement! I need far less food to feel full now among other countless benefits. Food corporations are killing us!

[skswales]

Re: One can suspend MacBooks with a magnet too

What is this vegetable of which you speak?

[Arthur the cat]

Re: One can suspend MacBooks with a magnet too

My dad has a pacemaker so isn't allowed in the kitchen when the microwave is on, on doctors orders. Engineers here have claimed that is paranoid, but I doubt they are medically qualified to diagnose paranoia.

I've had a pacemaker(*) for 17 years and whereas I've been told not to put my phone in a breast pocket and to avoid Tesla coils and high power radio transmitters, I've never been told to stay clear of microwave ovens.

(*) Well, two actually. The first got replaced 3 years ago.

[werdsmith]

Re: One can suspend MacBooks with a magnet too

Avoid high power radio transmitters? You mean like a microwave oven?

Imagine an 800 Watt WiFi transmitter.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: One can suspend MacBooks with a magnet too

I bet it's not the EM emitted by the electronics, but the strong, stable magnetic field emitted by the phone speaker's magnet.

[Anonymous Coward]

...are advised to resist the urge to tenderly hug their pricey new laptops

Anthropomorphise and then apply social distancing rules

[Dwarf]

A product to die for ?

[b0llchit]

No, not die.

You are clearly holding it wrong.

[sanmigueelbeer]

You are clearly holding it wrong

You are charging it wrogn.

[Anonymous Coward]

My iPhone will be the death of me......

[GlenP]

A friend's pacemaker triggered an alert a while back. The cause? The company he was working for had magnetically attached name badges which he'd clipped to his shirt pocket.

Although a quick phone call came up with the answer he was still strongly advised to visit the cardiac unit to get it checked out,

[Will Godfrey]

Trade Off

A long (relatively) healthy life.

Pretty, Shiny, Must have.

Coat, cos I want to get as far from all this crap as possible. Oh, and to the best of my knowledge the only magnets near me now are in the two speakers about 6ft away.

[Roland6]

I must be shopping at the untrendy places...

Not seen a shirt with a pocket big enough for a modern smartphone...

But then as we are talking about pacemakers, the problem might be more about a generation still attached to their suit jackets & blazers.

[John Jennings]

sounds like a great excuse to stay out of mammas space.....

[Anonymous Coward]

right,

no phone in the breast pocket - heart attacks....

no phone next to your ear - brain heating....

No phone in your trouser pocket - cooked nuts

Time for a man-bag?

[sanmigueelbeer]

Whao, whao, whao! Hold on there, guv. I think you're onto something. A new Apple product: An iHeart -- A heart stopping pacemaker.

[Kevin McMurtrie]

iClownPosse

How does the phone's compass even work with that much of a magnetic field? The magnet might produce a constant force but its field will be modulated by proximity to ferrous metals. It must be cooking wireless chargers too by driving them into half-wave saturation.

Ya know, Apple, you can make a magnet that alternates polarity at short intervals. That makes it stronger at close range and weaker at distance. Check your 'fridge magnets before filing your patent.

[Roland6]

Re: iClownPosse

>How does the phone's compass even work with that much of a magnetic field?

It (the mobile phone's compass) is a waste of time round here - the ironstone is only a few feet below ground level. Even traditional compasses have difficulty finding north. Given how maps etc. tend to display correctly, I assume the mobile phone primarily relies on satellite data for orientation.