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iPhone 14 Users Get Free Emergency SOS via Satellite for Another Year
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This really doesn’t feel like something that should be paid for. Imagine if you are in a life or death situation, and your phone is like ”Nah sorry you haven’t subscribed” and then someone dies when they could have been saved.
If you buy a navigation system for your car, you only pay for the hardware and the mobile connection is included forever. That should also be possible for a satellite system that 0.1% or less of all users will ever use.
Isn't that how healthcare works in the USA?
It's just a joke, running for the hills (with satellite SOS on).
nobody is going to pay for this ffs
bundle it in iCloud or get rid of this novelty feature
bundle it in iCloud or get rid of this novelty feature
Isn't this basically insurance in a nutshell? It's like if I break my phone, I can't possibly go running to Apple, attempt to purchase AppleCare for it and then try to have it apply retroactively to cover the cost of having it repaired. You have to decide at some point whether you are able to handle the risk or not.
My guess is that Apple will eventually fold it into iCloud+ or an Apple One subscription, rather than it be its own bill. This is the challenge of attempting to market a feature that everybody needs, but which nobody wants.
Indeed. And, as useful as hotel defibrillators are, they don’t come with a subscription service.
Apple make enough money as it is. They can easily afford to keep emergency satellite sos going in perpetuity without charging end users.
Knowing Apple, they probably don't pay Globalstar per phone per year but per emergency call and not even that until a significant part of Apple's investment in Globalstar has been recouped by the service they provide. There is probably an extension of the free period because hardly anyone uses this satellite emergency call function.
Honestly, I don't think they should charge for it at all. Or simply add it as a feature in iCloud+ or Apple One or something like that. Or maybe make it a cheap subscription like how you are able to get 200GB of iCloud Storage for $3/month. The good press from it being free and saving lives basically pays for itself lol
Rainman and Dr Evil are presently negotiating the amount. They may never reach an agreement tho.
Emergency features should not need a charge to function, this is a PR nightmare waiting to happen.
Mother of 5 perishes after getting lost in a charity for orphans hike.
Her SOS subscription had inadvertly been cancelled by a Wall Street banker error (from GS of course).
Looks like they are not ready for the paid subscription which will probably include non-emergency texts. So they tacked on an extra year and 14 and 15 models get the subscription offer at the same time.
We have been hearing stories of how the feature save lives.
When the feature expires, will we also hear stories of how it lets people die even though the feature is still right on the phone but doesn't work because it has not been renewed?
Not judging Apple here, since the feature costs money (which, granted, they have), but just thinking it will be tragic when the time comes.
When the feature expires, will we also hear stories of how it lets people die even though the feature is still right on the phone but doesn't work because it has not been renewed?
Not judging Apple here, since the feature costs money (which, granted, they have), but just thinking it will be tragic when the time comes.
The emergency part of it will be always free. They would charge for messages and calls (when available).
And when the technology enables it, for bragging photos “look how far of the civilization I’m”…
And when the technology enables it, for bragging photos “look how far of the civilization I’m”…
Subscription-based SOS satellite services have been a thing for years, yet when Apple does it people feel they're entitled to it being free?
It’s a shame that a built in feature that has already proven to save lives will be hidden behind a paywall. I honestly had NO idea that I’d only have the ability to use this temporarily and that Apple would take this away. Good thing I found out now and not when I’d actually need it.
Nobody did complain? How has “making up something in your head and then getting mad at those imaginary people” become a thing?
You’ll find that hotel guests are not charged for its use.
I assume there's some contractual reason Apple can't just say it's free forever. At this point it seems like that's their intent, but they don't own the satellites, so presumably they're limited in what they can promise to customers.