The same can be said for the dozen other gadgets the iPhone has displaced.
“So I don’t have to”.
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Apple's iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature Saves Stranded Man in Alaska
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The same can be said for the dozen other gadgets the iPhone has displaced.
“So I don’t have to”.
Emergency. Death. Broken spine.
No longer.
Apple iSave available as a pre-purchased plan for your new iPhone. Care for your close ones? Think that emergency communication should be free?
Think. Again.
Plans include:
Pleb SOS - 99$ per month
Includes a whopping 5 characters in emgc message and a rough northern/souther hemisphere location data and a fun animation showing you how to rub two sticks together to start a campfire and tie a noose in the most likely case nobody comes to save you.
iSOS basic - 499$ per month
Actual GPS data for the rescuers and a slide show with pictures of Tim Cook attending presentations and a funny iPod GIF dancing around with a first aid kit.
iSOS premium - 999$ per month
GPS, Beidou, Glonass and Galileo location data, 1000 character message length, actual survival instructions no BS this time, and Siri's comforting nurse-like comments on your health.
iSOS Pro Max - you hereby agree to donate a testicle, a kidney, part of your liver and 1lb of bone marrow to Apple in our Infinite Loop iMedical Centre once you get rescued.
All of the premium features and also includes a black VIP helicopter with a golden stripe across the fuselage, with 50% more cruise speed, at least one busty nurse and an iQuicky and a bottle of Moët onboard once you are recovered, clean robe and bandages, antiseptics, unlimited amount of acetate, matching blood group bags and morphine and/or medicinal marijuana and a chocolate chip brownie depending on local drug laws. This also covers 1 extra seat for a friend, your friend must however consent to the voluntary mandatory donations as well.
Great that he got saved 
but lol, "not working above 62-degrees".. half of Sweden is north of the 62-line. Not going to count on the iPhone to save me in the mountains then
but lol, "not working above 62-degrees".. half of Sweden is north of the 62-line. Not going to count on the iPhone to save me in the mountains then 
Still waiting for the "mini" model. So I got a 13 mini for now.
Seriously? Given that this only happened yesterday? This is something that's been posted by the State on the day it happened - not some weeks-old example that's been dug out and published by Apple.
I really do hope this comes to Spain. In summer I head out 100's of km's away from home alone on my bike, and frequently without good if any mobile coverage. Spain is a very empty country when you travel inland, and it's quite common to ride for hours without seeing a single soul.
About 3 years ago, I suffered from a bad case of heat stroke in 47C sun. I had to ration what was left of my water and walk/ride slowly with a pounding headache and blurred eyesight to a village as I had no coverage for almost an hour. My wife came to the rescue and since then I'm much better prepared, but I can never say for sure that will never happen again.
One of the reasons I purchased my 14 Pro was exactly for this reason.
The only criticism I can think of is relying on "Apple's Emergency Response Center". Not feeling overly comfortable with that...
About 3 years ago, I suffered from a bad case of heat stroke in 47C sun. I had to ration what was left of my water and walk/ride slowly with a pounding headache and blurred eyesight to a village as I had no coverage for almost an hour. My wife came to the rescue and since then I'm much better prepared, but I can never say for sure that will never happen again.
One of the reasons I purchased my 14 Pro was exactly for this reason.
The only criticism I can think of is relying on "Apple's Emergency Response Center". Not feeling overly comfortable with that...
But it's going to be that way.
Place yourself in the same situation. Even the best get stranded. It's called being human. It's happened to me, it's happened to most outdoor enthusiasts. It happens to us all at some point in our lives.
Goodness forbid, but should you get into that terrible accident, or situation where you require the help of others, I hope you tell yourself, "I should have been better prepared. Shame on me."
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It shows that when they do something, they really do it right. Kudos for that.
Good stuff. I wonder if people will become more reckless the more connected they feel to society though?
When I was in Papua New Guinea with one other friend, we had to Carry loads of water + purification tablets, medical supplies, knives, food supplies etc. We had to build in a lot of redundancy as if we got injured / stuck there were parts of the deep forests which did not have any mobile phone signal, or was patchy at best. Travel insurance didn't matter - you had to get yourself out if you fell / broke a leg etc.
In the UK, we have people try to walk up some of our bigger mountains (in Wales or Scotland) without the right equipment and then they call mountain rescue who tell them off for trying to go up e.g. Mount Snowdon in jeans and a t shirt. But people do this stuff cos they're used to always having the emergency services available.
Now if you have an iPhone, you could go for a walk into the Amazon and just send a satellite SOS if you get lost... right?
When I was in Papua New Guinea with one other friend, we had to Carry loads of water + purification tablets, medical supplies, knives, food supplies etc. We had to build in a lot of redundancy as if we got injured / stuck there were parts of the deep forests which did not have any mobile phone signal, or was patchy at best. Travel insurance didn't matter - you had to get yourself out if you fell / broke a leg etc.
In the UK, we have people try to walk up some of our bigger mountains (in Wales or Scotland) without the right equipment and then they call mountain rescue who tell them off for trying to go up e.g. Mount Snowdon in jeans and a t shirt. But people do this stuff cos they're used to always having the emergency services available.
Now if you have an iPhone, you could go for a walk into the Amazon and just send a satellite SOS if you get lost... right?
That didn't take long. How long as SOS been out and it's already saving lives.
This a great story and great use of technology.
IMHO it should (and I hope will) become a standard feature of all phones globally as soon as possible, and be free to users.
I find the idea of it being a service for profit or even at considerable cost to the individual slightly distasteful really, though obviously preferable to it not existing at all… maybe that is literally and figuratively the price of this feature existing, at least for now.
As for the cynicism that emerges for stories like this - I am just encouraged by the many positive responses so I’ll focus on those. There’s always the extremely useful Ignore List for that other stuff, I’m just not interested, and the ignore list works well.
IMHO it should (and I hope will) become a standard feature of all phones globally as soon as possible, and be free to users.
I find the idea of it being a service for profit or even at considerable cost to the individual slightly distasteful really, though obviously preferable to it not existing at all… maybe that is literally and figuratively the price of this feature existing, at least for now.
As for the cynicism that emerges for stories like this - I am just encouraged by the many positive responses so I’ll focus on those. There’s always the extremely useful Ignore List for that other stuff, I’m just not interested, and the ignore list works well.
Or west side of the Grand Canyon or Death Valley... so many spots where you don't see a soul for days or even weeks. It will be interesting to see the statistics from the emergency services by the end of next year.
As with all the other technology that came along, mobile phones, GPS.... this new feature probably won't prevent people from being stupid and still travel to these extreme environments (completely) unprepared.
Roll the ads! 🎬
In all seriousness well done Apple 👏🏻 Glad the man was rescued successfully!
In all seriousness well done Apple 👏🏻 Glad the man was rescued successfully!
Thats probably because the costs are determined by the rescue services, your insurance, and your healthcare coverage..
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Let me phrase it this way.
Can a 4G phone without a 5G antenna access a 5G signal even if it is running iOS16?
Phones (or Apple Watches) without satellite communication hardware can't communicate with satellites.
Very cool. Apple seems intent on charging for this service in the future, but they should offer the service as a benefit to all iPhone (Pro?) owners whose iPhone supports satellite connectivity.
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I think as long as satellite rescue is a niche service it was fine to have it provided by private companies for a fee, but if we think this is a service that mainstream customers should have, and apparently we do, it should be provided by a public authority based on open standards and accessible to all device manufacturers.
Don’t disagree, but given how long it takes public agencies to develop and promulgate standards, private companies like Apple can, and some might argue given their influence, should offer interim solutions to the widest number of persons possible.
are you following this topic? or just assuming?