Apple's Emergency SOS service for iPhones seems to be doing a pretty good job. Whatever your feelings about using an iPhone, you can't ignore the fact that calling for help via satellite is a really useful safety feature, and one that we're slowly starting to believe everyone should have. That's because we keep hearing about people being saved thanks to their new phone.
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The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro are the only Apple phones to feature satellite connectivity right now — the Apple Watch Ultra is the only other device with it.
Emergency SOS is activated if you try to call emergency services and there’s no cellular connection.
The iPhone will guide you to the nearest satellite, then direct you to Apple to answer a few questions and describe your situation.
Two motorists in the eastern canyons of Los Angeles County are the latest people to be rescued. That area can often be a dead zone for cellular service.
According to the Montrose Search & Rescue Team, the call for help was initiated when the iPhone 14 recognized that a car accident had occurred.
The victims then got out of the car and followed instructions to connect with Apple's satellite emergency services, informing the Crescenta Valley Police Department that they had slid about 300 feet down a mountainside.
Apple's call center also contacted other rescue units, including the county sheriff's department, which had access to the helicopter that helped remove the two victims from the bottom of the canyon.
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You can watch a video of the helicopter rescue on Twitter. The tweet credits Apple for “ precise latitude and longitude ” for locating the 20-year-old victims near their car. They were then taken to a local hospital for further testing. This isn’t the first story of Apple’s Emergency SOS service saving someone. A snowmobile driver in Alaska was rescued in the middle of the night thanks to the iPhone 14’s satellite connectivity. Apple’s Emergency SOS over satellite only launched last month, so some of these stories are just proof that the feature is working as Apple intended. We’ll likely hear more about it in the coming months as winter approaches. iPhone 14/14 Pro devices in the UK , Ireland , France, and Germany should have access to the service by the day before yesterday. Source: gizmodo.com
