Apple announced its innovative satellite-based safety service “Emergency SOS,” available to iPhone 14 users, which will now allow them to connect with emergency services when cellular and Wi-Fi coverage are unavailable due to disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis, among others.
Users can now send messages to emergency services when they are out of coverage, and if they want to share their location with friends and family while travelling and without access to a network, they can now open the Find My app and share their location via satellite.
“Some of the most popular places to travel are off the beaten path and simply lack cellular coverage. With Emergency SOS via satellite, the iPhone 14 line provides an indispensable tool that can get users the help they need,” he said. greg joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing.
“Our teams worked tirelessly to address a new set of technical challenges to bring this service to life, as well as build reliable infrastructure on the ground. We hope it provides peace of mind to our customers,” he added.
Emergency SOS builds on existing features vital to iPhone users, including Medical ID, emergency contacts and Find My location sharing, offering the ability to connect to a satellite to share critical information with emergency services, family and friends.
This service allows Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), or emergency services call centers, to connect to more users in emergency situations and does not require additional software or protocols to enable communications.
Users will then be connected directly to emergency services that are equipped to receive text messages or to relay centers staffed by Apple-trained emergency specialists who are ready to communicate with PSAPs that are unable to receive text messages on the user's behalf.
Emergency SOS is now available in the US and Canada, and will be coming to France, Germany, Ireland and the UK in December.
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