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Apple's iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature Saves Stranded Man in Alaska

bmustaf said:
I don't think we're going to have a chance to funding some sat comm infrastructure unless it can be used as a weapon, in which case, well, it's guaranteed.
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You are spot on. Global positioning systems (GPS) that civilians now access everyday on their phones and automobiles actually originally was developed by and for the military. In its early days civilian uses were literally prohibited from using it to get their exact position and had to build in errors (I think of up 100 meters from the true location) to the resulting maps.
 
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iluvcrap2000 said:
"Stranded". He should have prepared going out there. Not Rely on the Phone. If the environment is Hostile he should have the gear needed to Survive. Make a Fire, shelter, have food ect.. Think People living there going out everyday Don't prepare for events? Bah.
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Even if he had been prepared, he still would have called SOS. No?
 
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mayga1 said:
Noorvik to Kotzebue is only about 5 miles.
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Umm what?
 
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@NightFox,

What did you disagree with my observation? You believe that this news do not fall well with the device features, the device did not do what is supposed to do or the device was given for free? With one of this for sure you disagree otherwise your reaction is one of passion rather than reason.
 
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OneTraveler said:
Alaskan miles can be quite different.
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A lot of people take for granted that one is never far from “somewhere”. In bush Alaska, almost everywhere is quite, quite far from somewhere else. With no roads, and very little likelihood someone will just happen to be passing by, yes, this new system will absolutely save lives in the bush.
 
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iluvcrap2000 said:
"Stranded". He should have prepared going out there. Not Rely on the Phone. If the environment is Hostile he should have the gear needed to Survive. Make a Fire, shelter, have food ect.. Think People living there going out everyday Don't prepare for events? Bah.
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I don't think you understand how quickly you can find yourself in a survival situation in Alaska no matter what kind of gear you have.
 
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JapanApple said:
local municipalities are known, but in some counties, local cities are charged for first responders and etc.
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Well I mean the money comes from somewhere. DMV fees pay for our CHP department. For medical responses government agencies may charge your insurance but generally don’t collect what’s not covered. For “stupidity” rescues you might get charged. I’d assume if you were doing something illegal, you might have a bigger chance of getting charged lol. Much like someone starting a wild fire gets charged for the emergency response.
 
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Cndnmax said:
Well I mean the money comes from somewhere. DMV fees pay for our CHP department. For medical responses government agencies may charge your insurance but generally don’t collect what’s not covered. For “stupidity” rescues you might get charged. I’d assume if you were doing something illegal, you might have a bigger chance of getting charged lol. Much like someone starting a wild fire gets charged for the emergency response.
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good answer ty
 
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Seems to me that the obvious solution to charging for this after the 2-year initial period is to just add a charge to your cell phone bill (or Apple ID) if you use it. Maybe $25 or $50 or $100 each time? If you’re really in trouble, that’s cheap.

I imagine part of the reason for the initial free period is to see how much it actually gets used so they can figure out how much to charge for it. Something like (annual cost of the overall system with satellites and the emergency contact center and all / number of calls for help annually) * percentage of profit = per-activation cost.
 
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excellent. I get the feeling that many of these new features could easily be available in older iPhones as well, maybe not this particular one but there’s a lot of iPhone 14 only stuff such as volume control (now similar to androids way it’s controlled and much better) being touted as an IPhone 14 feature. This is BS IMO. There’s no physical limitations or hardware that some of this couldn’t also be made available to older iPhones that can run the same iOS. Boooo Apple!
 
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Only on the internet would anyone doubt that in the first month the satellite SOS feature was available, one single iPhone 14 user would get stuck in a remote area and use the satellite SOS to call for help.

It's the farthest thing from 'preposterous'.
 
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iluvcrap2000 said:
"Stranded". He should have prepared going out there. Not Rely on the Phone. If the environment is Hostile he should have the gear needed to Survive. Make a Fire, shelter, have food ect.. Think People living there going out everyday Don't prepare for events? Bah.
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Yellow Stone National Park doesn't have any cell coverage and I am sure 99% of the people visiting plan for alternate mode of communication in emergency.
 
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antiprotest said:
Although it sounds so PR/marketing, perhaps it's the way much of the article is written that makes this feel a little weird. I will just take it at face value and say I'm happy that this feature exists.
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I am just shocked there’s a quote without naming the person who made the statement. Is t that English/Journalism 101?
 
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janwerbinski said:
I was stranded in huge shopping mall once. Thanks God I had my iPhone with me. Saved my life again.
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200w.webp


I honestly sometimes need the mall map in Apple Maps to find my way out. I need a GPS just to back out of my driveway. I'm terrible with directions.
 
JPSaltzman said:
.... only if you have an iPhone 14. What are the chances?

Sorry, but to me the "proper" thing to do would make this a software feature, and available to ALL iPhone users who were running OS 16. As it is....
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You must be a software and satellite engineer?
 
And that is precisely why this feature will be free despite the official "free for 2 years" tag - imagine the negative publicity of "died in the wilderness because 2 years have lapsed".
 
Futurix said:
And that is precisely why this feature will be free despite the official "free for 2 years" tag - imagine the negative publicity of "died in the wilderness because 2 years have lapsed".
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Don’t be too sure. It’s not up to apple to ensure the individual’s preparedness, it’s up to the individual.
 
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I7guy said:
Don’t be too sure. It’s not up to apple to ensure the individual’s preparedness, it’s up to the individual.
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The court of public opinion would still judge Apple I'd imagine if someone had tried to get help and couldn't.

My guess is that Apple wouldn't prevent someone from reaching one of their centres and would still send help, but probably for a hefty one-time charge that's significantly more expensive than an annual membership.

People who regularly venture out will probably pay regardless, while city dwellers are unlikely to pay for satellite rescue so it's better to still cover them and charge them when you can instead of shutting them out completely.
 
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