iPhone 14's Emergency SOS Feature Is Now Live in US, Canada - PCMag

Apple is turning connected the exigency outer connectivity relation for iPhone 14 owners contiguous successful the US and Canada. 

The Emergency SOS diagnostic is escaped for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models for the adjacent 2 years. Apple designed it for radical who extremity up disconnected the grid, similar erstwhile they're traveling outdoors; it allows them to link to satellites successful Earth’s orbit to nonstop substance messages to exigency services. All the idiosyncratic needs is simply a wide presumption of the sky. 

“Additionally, if users privation to reassure friends and household of their whereabouts portion traveling disconnected the grid, they tin present unfastened the Find My app and stock their determination via satellite,” Apple says(Opens successful a caller window).

The different important quality is that Apple plans connected expanding the Emergency SOS diagnostic to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK sometime adjacent month. Last week, the institution besides revealed it’s spending $450 million to assistance grow the outer infrastructure needed to powerfulness the Emergency SOS feature. 

(Credit: Apple)

Emergency SOS appears if the iPhone 14 tin nary longer entree a cellular oregon Wi-Fi awesome erstwhile dialing 911. A greenish icon pops up called “Emergency Text via Satellite.” Tapping it volition make a questionnaire designed to reply cardinal questions with a fewer elemental taps specified arsenic the quality of the exigency and who was hurt. That info is past transmitted to exigency dispatchers.  

“Following the questionnaire, the intuitive interface guides the idiosyncratic wherever to constituent their iPhone to link (to the orbiting satellite) and sends the archetypal message,” Apple says. “This connection includes the user’s questionnaire responses; location, including altitude; iPhone artillery level; and Medical ID, if enabled.”

Users tin expect to nonstop and person messages via the satellites successful arsenic small arsenic 15 seconds, assuming the entity is clear. The institution besides built a demo mode for the feature, which volition let an iPhone 14 proprietor to link to a existent outer successful scope without calling exigency services.

PCMag got a sneak peek astatine Emergency SOS past week, and we recovered that it's "direct and elemental to use, though the dilatory quality of the outer effect times tin beryllium a situation erstwhile you're nether the duress of an emergency." Check retired our afloat rundown here.