iPhone 14’s Satellite-Powered SOS, Crash Detection Feature Said to Save 2 Lives

The iPhone 14’s satellite-powered SOS feature does not require cellular or Wi-Fi network to work.

Written by Radhika Parashar, Edited by Richa Sharma | Updated: 15 December 2022 20:46 IST

iPhone 14’s Satellite-Powered SOS, Crash Detection Feature Said to Save 2 Lives

Photo Credit: Apple

The service will be available free of cost for two years to iPhone users

Highlights

Apple launched the satellite-powered SOS feature in September
The feature has also expanded to Ireland and the UK
On December 1, the SOS feature also helped another person get rescued

iPhone 14's satellite-powered SOS system has once again proved beneficial as it recently helped to rescue two passengers who accidently drove their car off Angeles Forest Highway in Angeles National Forest and plunged 300 feet into the canyon. The credits to Apple's satellite-powered SOS and crash detection feature have been given by the first responders who conducted the rescue operation in a helicopter. Apple added the emergency SOS feature, backed by satellite network, to the iPhone devices launched in September and it is already coming in handy for distressed users.

California's Montrose Search and Rescue Team posted an official update about the incident on Twitter. The post noted that they received a call for help via Apple's emergency satellite service.

The team also shared a video of the helicopter mission underway.

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This afternoon at approximately 1:55 PM, @CVLASD received a call from the Apple emergency satellite service. The informant and another victim had been involved in a single vehicle accident pic.twitter.com/tFWGMU5h3V
— Montrose Search & Rescue Team (Ca.) (@MontroseSAR) December 14, 2022

The feature does not require cellular or Wi-Fi network to work. Via the satellite network, users are allowed to share their location as well.

If a user is unable to reach emergency services, the iPhone displays an interface to get help to the user via a satellite connection. It asks a bunch of questions to the users to transmit accurate details to potential responders.

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Earlier this month, the iPhone-maker announced the expansion of this satellite SOS feature to the iPhone 14 users in France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK.

The Cupertino-based tech giant partnered with Global Star to wire satellite connectivity to its iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max models.

The service will be available free of cost for two years to iPhone users.

In the first week of December, Alaska State Troopers were alerted of an adult male stranded in a remote region through Apple's satellite emergency SOS feature.

At the time, the Apple Emergency Response Centre, which received the man's GPS coordinates, had coordinated with the local emergency team to rescue the person unharmed and on time.

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Further reading: iPhone 14, Apple, Satellite-Powered SOS feature

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More