Apple's iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have no visible regulatory symbols in the United States, as the U.S. allows this information to be relegated to the Settings app on the devices thanks to the E-Label Act passed in 2014.
That's not the case in Europe, where regulatory approvals are required to be visible on the device itself. Apple has in the past put the necessary symbols on the back of the iPhone, but this year, the European models have regulatory info laser etched on the bottom right side of the device.
On European iPhone 12 and 12Pro series, the regulatory logos are laser engraved on the side of the device. #iPhone12 #iPhone12Pro #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/EPPFGVljZ9 — 🔥🌸 Giulio Zompetti (@1nsane_dev) October 20, 2020
The etching includes the "CE" symbol, which is a marking that means it conforms with the health, safety, and environmental protection standards for products sold within the European Economic Area. Most products sold in Europe are required to meet the legal requirements for the CE marking, and are required display it.
So it seems the iPhone 12 in Europe has these ugly marking on the side now?! Canceling my order. pic.twitter.com/QenzPYnHqu — Jesper van Haaren (@jhaaren) October 16, 2020
Some iPhone buyers in Europe may not be happy with the CE mark engraved on the side of the new devices as it is more visible in some ways than the engraving on the back, but a case will be able to hide it.
![Apple Pulls Keynote, Pages and Numbers From App Store [Update: Back]](https://images.macrumors.com/t/Okb7kitB_gNr6qe5Pex9nQIysD8=/112x112/article-new/2026/01/Apple-Creator-Studio-iWork-suite.jpg)
