Today, Apple has enabled the Emergency SOS via satellite feature in the US and Canada for iPhone 14 users. The company will roll out the feature to Europe countries, including Germany, the UK, France, and Ireland.
The feature helps users to get emergency services when they have no cell or Wi-Fi connectivity. Users may be somewhere out in the wilderness or get into dangerous situations in a natural disaster that brings down the power grid and communications.
The SOS feature will ask you some questions while in a dangerous situation, including what kind of emergency it is, how many people need help, and some additional details. The device will transmit the emergency services, and users will receive text, or one of Apple’s centers will call on your behalf for those who don’t.
Users can receive and send the situation details through messages, and it will help rescuers. Satellite data is low bandwidth, so Apple compresses that squeezes text by 300%. The device needs 15 seconds to transmit a message.
While the device asks for questionnaires, the device will transmit your Medical ID if you have that setup. Rescuers will be aware of potential issues (e.g., allergies to certain medications). You can send up to 10 iMessage emergency contacts; they will receive the your emergency message that is sent out over satellite to keep them apprised of the situation.
The phone will guide you through setting the manual aiming for the satellite. A demo mode allows you to practice, so you will be ready when you’re in real emergencies condition.
You can share location with friends and family using Find My’s new feature when you don’t need satellite connectivity for emergencies. This Emergency SOS is available for all iPhone 14 models – iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max. First, you must run iOS 16.1 or later to get satellite features. Unfortunately, China, Hong Kong, and Macao do not support these features. The SOS feature doesn’t work above 62° latitude.
If you’re a new iPhone 14 user and you haven’t use the SOS feature yet, you have 2 years of service for free. We still need to find out how much the subscription will cost after that.