Apple announces the availability of its Emergency SOS service in France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. From today, any user of an iPhone 14 can communicate by satellite with the emergency services, without the need for a mobile network.
One of the key features of iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro et iPhone 14 Pro Max is finally available in France: Emergency SOS with satellite connection. Apple had confirmed the arrival of this service in France last month. We also know that support for the service will be available in other countries in 2023.
Emergency SOS: notify the emergency services without the need for a mobile network
The first function available is Emergency SOS: it allows iPhone 14 users to send messages to emergency services without the need for Wi-Fi or a cellular network. It works with Medical ID and emergency contacts. Apple has hired people who act as a relay between the user and the emergency services. They must contact them to give them your position and your medical information (those entered in Medical ID).
A commendable initiative praised by Gary Machado, CEO of the European Emergency Numbers Association, who states in Apple’s press release : « In practice, this means that many more people will be able to contact 112 when they have no mobile coverage and need urgent help. We are confident that this will save many lives and offer significant assistance to the emergency services tasked with these often very complicated rescues. »
The satellite emergency services contact can be activated without having to dial 112, ” pressing and holding the power and volume buttons, or quickly pressing the power button five times » : so be careful when handling your iPhone. Otherwise, we can go to the interface of the iPhone, which invites us to complete a questionnaire in a few clicks. This is forwarded to the emergency services. To send it quickly, ” the intuitive interface tells the user where to point their iPhone to connect and sends the initial message to access the nearest satellite. This information can also be transmitted with registered emergency contacts.
These satellites, however, have low bandwidth and are located more than a thousand kilometers from Earth, so messages, even short ones, can take a few minutes to be transmitted “, specifies Apple in its press release. To get the fastest possible speed (without installing a huge antenna on the iPhone) Apple engineers designed specific hardware elements, tuned the frequencies used and ” a text compression algorithm that reduces the average message size by three “. Under favorable conditions, it might take 15 seconds to send or receive a message.
A demo of the satellite connection that anyone can try
Apple also says that every iPhone 14 user can test Emergency SOS to test their smartphone’s satellite connection. Fortunately, this does not contact the emergency services, it is only for ” get familiar with » with the interface, in order to be the fastest in case of emergency.
Note that you need the version iOS 16.1 minimum to use Emergency SOS and Find My. These services are free for two years for anyone who has purchased an iPhone 14. A trial period which will therefore end in December 2024, Apple has still not communicated the prices of the future subscription.
Find My by satellite: to inform your loved ones
Apple’s Find My application has a new function, too, which allows you to use the satellite connection to send your GPS position to your loved ones, from a preconfigured list. Something to reassure them for a hike or trip.
In its press release, the brand also specifies how to do it: users “ need to go to the app, open the Me tab, swipe to My Satellite Location, then choose Send My Location ».
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