Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
This is why the satellite feature should remain a free service for everyone, and not a charged service after a period of time!
 
I'm always being amazed by how much effort people put to test new iPhone features!
 
I can't wait to use the satellite phone from Mars to tell everyone I'm out of this world.
 
Good story for the technology, however you have to be in good enough shape after a crash to be able to crawl out of your car I'd imagine to use the satellite feature. If you're trapped but otherwise still alive you probably wont be able to use it.
If you have cell service the crash detection feature would have alerted authorities as well.
 
If you follow the Twitter breadcrumbs, y'all find out people in the cars are... wait for it... influencers.😑😑😑

I'd bet dollars to donuts they were filming some stupid YouTube/TikTok crap when they went over the edge.😒 Doing stupid stunts or taking stupid risk for likes.🤦‍♂️ Ugh.
Wow.
 
If you follow the Twitter breadcrumbs, y'all find out people in the cars are... wait for it... influencers.😑😑😑

I'd bet dollars to donuts they were filming some stupid YouTube/TikTok crap when they went over the edge.😒 Doing stupid stunts or taking stupid risk for likes.🤦‍♂️ Ugh.
And you would have lost that bet.


One of the people involved in the accident just shared his experience here, and it's nothing of the sort.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BostonQuad
Apple sound like they are the good Samaritans who save lives, but I wonder how much money its users have to pay for each saved life statistically. At the same time Apple causes a lot of problems by contacting 911 because someone took a rollercoaster. That is really dangerous for people who really need help at the same time.

Of course every saved life is important, but for example if everybody bought some cheap smoke detectors for his home, it is much more likely that those smoke detectors will save his life than Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite. Unless of course he is someone with very dangerous hobbies.

As long as the service is free for all, the cost/benefit ratio of course is zero, but once it costs money after two years or so, there may be better ways to invest $10 per month into your own security.
 
how many false positives will this lead to? I had to decline the feature 3x while playing flag football on Thanksgiving…and we arnt not very athletic 😂
Hopefully it’s getting better with machine learning from all these declines from customers.
 
Apple sound like they are the good Samaritans who save lives, but I wonder how much money its users have to pay for each saved life statistically. At the same time Apple causes a lot of problems by contacting 911 because someone took a rollercoaster. That is really dangerous for people who really need help at the same time.

Of course every saved life is important, but for example if everybody bought some cheap smoke detectors for his home, it is much more likely that those smoke detectors will save his life than Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite. Unless of course he is someone with very dangerous hobbies.

As long as the service is free for all, the cost/benefit ratio of course is zero, but once it costs money after two years or so, there may be better ways to invest $10 per month into your own security.
What’s your point? People call 911 without iPhones for all sorts of things like cold pizza - so let’s not pretend the only false 911 calls ever come from iPhones.

To your thinking drop life insurance, car insurance because there are better ways to invest in your own security. Right?
 
I'm one of the really old folks. In all my years I've never seen negativism like I'm seeing here. It's not just the negative comments, it's all those people who are giving those comments a thumbs up. I sincerely feel sorry for you people - how sad going through life just feeding on the dark side. Where does this way of being come from .. Is it a habit developed on social media? - Or what?
Unbounded negativity is the currency of the internet. Mainly because it gets attention/engagement and, due to the ad sponsored nature of the internet, engagement is all that matters, whether it’s folks that like or dislike a thing. Even for folks that aren’t financially benefitting it, it’s the way they see communication used often (by those who ARE benefitting) and they just adopt that.

The model DOES keep sites like this financially viable (the musings of one CEO MUST be bringing in greater than average dollars… Merry Christmas, MacRumors!) but as a result, it fosters a following that exists to reject anything related to the topic of the site (regardless of what the site’s focus is).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Garsun and ericwn
I'm one of the really old folks. In all my years I've never seen negativism like I'm seeing here. It's not just the negative comments, it's all those people who are giving those comments a thumbs up. I sincerely feel sorry for you people - how sad going through life just feeding on the dark side. Where does this way of being come from .. Is it a habit developed on social media? - Or what?
No, spending time telling strangers about things you don’t like is a trait that idiots all over the internet seem to like, we can’t credit that to social media.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Evvie and I7guy
Great story, glad the folks are okay. As for why the negativity, there will be a few folks who are just negative, but this is a top Apple site and Astroturfing (people being paid to post nastiness about their competitors products in online sites) is a real thing. And this is something cool, nobody else has, for free to the customer (at least at this point).

You can see it with users who do mostly just awfulness around here - yet stick around doing it day in and day out. The vast majority of folks who actually felt like that wouldn't stick around wasting their time posting on a site for tech they don't like (i.e. I'd never waste my time posting on a Sammy site for example, let alone trolling it day in and day out).
 
I am glad everybody was OK. I think this is a useful feature and it will be a good backup for a sat communicator for those of us who travel in remote areas (Scottish highlands in my case). Hopefully rescues like this will become so routine that it won't be newsworthy. Well done Apple!
 
  • Like
Reactions: KennyJr
It's an excellent service for peace of mind for emergencies.

A satellite phone costs about 500 dollars, has no crash detection and needs a 100 dollars monthly plan. That's the only alternative.
Best to think of the iPhone system as an emergency backup if your going into the wilderness - sat communicators are optimised and ruggedized for one primary job only, and, at least for the short-term, are likely to be more reliable in getting help than the iPhone system.

Each summer I walk a path in the Scottish highlands that has had fatalities on it. I always have two electronic communication devices, a mirror, and a whistle (I am getting older, so it seems prudent to be able to signal for help).
 
So, and I’m just asking questions, isn’t it convenient that these folks just HAPPENED to be rescued with Apple devices on them? Almost sounds like we wouldn’t be reading about it if they had gotten rescued some other way. If there’s more accidents this year than last year, can’t we just assume that every extra accident is just a staged marketing event for Apple?

Jus’ askin’ kwerschuns…
Well I'll tell you one thing... You sure wouldn't be reading about this if it was an Android device! har har

Seriously though - how much debt did they just wrack up with that search and rescue? Hospital bills... Next time, just leave them there. Who wants that much debt just cos you survived a car crash.

I mean... unless they had insurance... or lived somewhere with universal health care.
 
Apple Marketing ramping up...
Thats what came up my mind as well. Dry road, couple in there twenties(age eligible for car insurance payment boost), not saying it was staged. I guess I wait for the story in some mini series. I hope nobody expects i am not going to wish both “get well soon”. Btw just updated to 16.2. and its not bad.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.