2023-11-20 21:30:36
YouTuber Brian Tong is distracted. While he was walking like everyone else near the Stevens Creek Reservoir in California, he leaves his car without turning off the headlights. After having recharged his batteries in the heart of nature, he returns to his vehicle and discovers that he can no longer open anything. And even though we are only 10 km from Apple Park (a coincidence, surely), it is a white zone. It would have been really bad luck if Brian didn’t have a brand new iPhone 15 Pro with him, a smartphone capable of contacting roadside assistance via satellite!
Video capture Brian Tong, like all following illustrations.
The opportunity was too good not to test this new thing, you think so. No more sarcasm, the demonstration is interesting, because the procedure is a little different from the satellite emergency calls launched last year. To initiate a call, you must open the Messages app and start a conversation with a recipient named “roadside”. No need to add it to your contacts first, iOS 17 offers the functionality automatically if you do not have access to a cellular network.
In the Messages app, you can contact support via satellite when iPhone is out of cellular range.
The Apple interface that we already knew then appears to confirm the activation of the functionality and remind you of the instructions. To reach the satellites, you must be outside and wait while sending and receiving each message. The system also asks you to choose the service provider to contact for troubleshooting, knowing that the functionality was only launched with AAA in the United States. However, it is encouraging to know that everything is in place for a launch in other countries.
Before starting the satellite conversation, iOS 17 reminds you of the rules.
The exchange then takes place directly through the Messages app, more freely than with emergency calls. The first message asks you to enter the AAA member number, even if everyone can benefit from the repair service which is chargeable, then the postal code of the place to intervene. You must then enter the name of the brand, model, year and color of the vehicle and this is enough to send a repairer who can take care of small problems, such as an empty battery or a flat tire.
Discussion with the operator is done by sending messages.
The video is not real time and we cannot see at what time the exchange via satellite ends. Sending and receiving, however, can take several tens of seconds each time, and even then, only under optimal conditions. Of course, you also have to count on waiting for the repairer to intervene, especially in remote areas. But anyway, it will always be better than having to walk a few (tens of?) kilometers to find a cellular network and only then call assistance…
Apple has not given a schedule for opening this extension of satellite emergency calls to the rest of the world. We do know, however, that it is in the same package of functions offered for two years in theory, even if the free period was recently extended by one year.
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