iPhone 17 SAR, Explained: The Official Numbers vs. Real-Use (0 mm) Exposure

Bottom line:

Apple’s iPhone 17 series passes today’s SAR rules at the as-tested separations (typically 5 mm for body, handset-to-phantom head spacing per the report setup).
Phonegate’s “≈ 7× higher at contact (0 mm)” result is not a lab re-test—it’s a physics-based transformation of the FCC’s own SAR numbers into 0 mm (true contact) conditions, where near/Fresnel-zone fields dominate and the simple 1/r² rule doesn’t apply.
Independent 3rd-party work (Chicago Tribune / RF Exposure Lab, 2019) found multiple phones exceeded limits at 2 mm, even though they passed at standard distances—exactly the pattern near/Fresnel physics predicts.
A D.C. Circuit court has already ruled the FCC’s decision to retain decades-old RF limits “arbitrary and capricious,” i.e., inadequately justified against modern evidence—so compliant ≠ biologically protective, especially for kids.

The official FCC SAR numbers for iPhone 17

FCC IDs and peak 1-g SAR (cellular only, highest reported):

iPhone 17 (A3258, BCG-E8947A)
Head: 1.19 W/kg Body-worn (5 mm): 1.16 W/kg Hotspot (5 mm): 1.19 W/kg
Simultaneous TX (cell+Wi-Fi): Head 1.53, Body 1.54, Hotspot 1.54 W/kg
iPhone 17 Pro (A3256, BCG-E8949A)
Head: 1.19 Body-worn: 1.19 Hotspot: 1.19 W/kg
Simultaneous TX: Head 1.59, Body 1.59, Hotspot 1.59 W/kg
iPhone 17 Pro Max (A3257, BCG-E8950A)
Head: 1.19 Body-worn: 1.19 Hotspot: 1.19 W/kg
Simultaneous TX: Head 1.58, Body 1.59, Hotspot 1.59 W/kg
iPhone 17 Air (A3260, BCG-E8948A)
Head: 1.19 Body-worn: 1.19 Hotspot: 1.19 W/kg
Simultaneous TX: Head 1.58, Body 1.58, Hotspot 1.60 W/kg

Extremities @ 0 mm (10-g SAR, limit = 4 W/kg): the FCC tables you shared show ≈ 2.7–2.9 W/kg—i.e., below the 4 W/kg extremities limit.

Above 6 GHz (power density): the PD results in your reports are ≈ 0.68–0.69 mW/cm² vs a 1.0 mW/cm² “general population” limit.

These are as-tested compliance numbers at the specified separations. They are not contact-condition values.

Why “official SAR” and “real-use (0 mm) SAR” diverge

A quick physics refresher

SAR scales with the square of the local electric field, $SAR∝σ∣E∣2/ρ\mathrm{SAR} \propto \sigma |E|^2/\rho$ .
Very close to a phone, you are not in the far field. You’re in the reactive near-field and then the Fresnel (radiating near-field). Here, the field contains $1/r^3$ , $1/r^2$ , and $1/ r$ terms, plus aperture interference and body coupling—so a few millimeters of extra separation do not follow a clean 1/r² curve.
Move from 5 mm → 0 mm and $∣ E ∣$ can rise steeply; because SAR goes like $E|^2$ , multipliers of 5×–8× are plausible. That’s exactly what Phonegate’s calculator is quantifying.

So what is Phonegate actually doing?
They take the certified SAR at 5–15 mm (from regulators’ reports) and apply well-established near/Fresnel field gradients to map that value to 0 mm (contact). This is a deterministic transformation grounded in the physics of the field region—not a fresh phantom test.

Independent 2 mm evidence
When the Chicago Tribune hired RF Exposure Lab (FCC-accredited) to retest phones at 2 mm to mimic pocket/close carry, several models exceeded limits (e.g., Galaxy S8 ≈ 8.22 W/kg; multiple iPhone 7 results > limit)—yet the same models passed at standard separations. That’s the same distance-regime effect Phonegate is highlighting: pass at 5–15 mm, fail at 0–2 mm.

Why standards lag—and why “compliant” ≠ “protective”

In Environmental Health Trust & Children’s Health Defense v. FCC, the D.C. Circuit ruled the FCC’s decision to keep legacy limits “arbitrary and capricious.” The court said the agency failed to give a reasoned explanation about non-thermal effects, children’s vulnerability, and long-term exposure—so the current framework isn’t a public-health gold standard.
France has already pushed Europe toward 0 mm (contact) testing, and ANFR forced an in-market fix on iPhone 12 when contact-condition limb SAR exceeded the limit. The direction of travel is clear: measure and disclose at contact.

What this means when you’re shopping an iPhone 17

If you use the phone at contact (pressed to the head, against the body, in a pocket, or under a pillow), your exposure is governed by near/Fresnel coupling, not the far-field inverse-square rule. That’s why a phone can be fully compliant in the lab and still produce much higher local absorption at 0–2 mm in the real world.

The transparent fix
Publish both numbers:

As-tested SAR (with the actual separation used), and
Contact-condition SAR (0 mm) for head and trunk.
That’s what consumers need to make an informed choice—and it’s the number parents, schools, and clinicians care about.

Practical exposure tips

Distance during heavy radio use. Use speakerphone/air-tube; don’t clamp the phone to your head during long calls, especially in poor signal.
Cut duty cycle. Download-then-read; message instead of long streaming while the phone is against the body.
Avoid detuning. Don’t stick metal plates/magnets over antenna areas—this can force higher transmit power.
Indoors: prefer wired or Li-Fi for high-duty tasks; keep high-duty RF away from where children learn and sleep.

The RFSafe position

Physics, not opinion. Phonegate’s “≈ 7× at 0 mm” is physics applied to regulators’ own inputs. Independent 2 mm tests have already shown the same trend.
Policy must catch up. After a federal court called the FCC’s retention of old limits arbitrary and capricious, it’s unreasonable to treat 5–15 mm compliance as sufficient public-health protection.
Call to action:
1. Publish 0 mm SAR alongside certified values, per model/band.
2. Update standards to reflect signal structure (pulsing/modulation) and continuous, real-world use.
3. Prefer wired/Li-Fi indoors and remove high-duty RF from classrooms/bedrooms.

Appendix: quick read of the FCC tables

iPhone 17 family: Head SAR ≈ 1.19 W/kg (cellular only), Body-worn ≈ 1.16–1.19 W/kg @ 5 mm, Simultaneous TX (cell+Wi-Fi) ≈ 1.53–1.60 W/kg.
Extremities (10-g) @ 0 mm: ~2.7–2.9 W/kg (below the 4 W/kg limit).
Above 6 GHz PD (over 4 cm², 30 min): ~0.68–0.69 mW/cm² (below the 1.0 mW/cm² limit).

Takeaway: compliance on paper does not tell you the contact number you actually care about. Until Apple and regulators publish 0 mm values, consumers will keep having to rely on independent physics-based estimates (like Phonegate’s) to understand real-use exposure.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max SAR Level Summary: The cellular transmission SAR values for the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max (FCC ID BCG-E8950A) are 1.19 W/kg (watts per kilogram) at the head and 1.19 W/kg when worn on the body. The hotspot/Airplay SAR level is 1.19 W/kg. The simultaneous transmission SAR values for iPhone 17 Pro Max (cellular plus Wi-Fi) is 1.58 W/kg at the head, 1.59 W/kg when worn on the body, and 1.59 W/kg when used as a hotspot simultaneously with other transmitters active.

Apple iPhone 17 Air SAR Level Summary: The cellular transmission SAR values for the Apple iPhone 17 Air (FCC ID BCG-E8948A) are 1.19 W/kg at the head and 1.19 W/kg when worn on the body. The hotspot/Airplay SAR level is 1.19 W/kg. The simultaneous transmission SAR values for iPhone 17 Air (cellular + Wi-Fi) is 1.58 W/kg at the head, 1.58 W/kg when worn on the body, and 1.60 W/kg when used as a hotspot simultaneously.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro SAR Level Summary: The cellular transmission SAR values for the Apple iPhone 17 Pro (FCC ID BCG-E8949A) are 1.19 W/kg at the head and 1.19 W/kg when worn on the body. The hotspot/Airplay SAR level is 1.19 W/kg. The simultaneous transmission SAR values for iPhone 17 Pro (cellular + Wi-Fi) is 1.59 W/kg at the head, 1.59 W/kg when worn on the body, and 1.59 W/kg when used as a hotspot simultaneously.

Apple iPhone 17 SAR Level Summary: The cellular transmission SAR values for the Apple iPhone 17 (FCC ID BCG-E8947A) are 1.19 W/kg at the head and 1.16 W/kg when worn on the body. The hotspot/Airplay SAR level is 1.19 W/kg. The simultaneous transmission SAR values for iPhone 17 (cellular + Wi-Fi) is 1.53 W/kg at the head, 1.54 W/kg when worn on the body, and 1.54 W/kg when used as a hotspot simultaneously.

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