Apple’s service is temporary measure since it only provides rescue messaging. Most people want the sms/voice services that will eventually be provided by Starlink. It will be interesting to see if people pay for Starlink service while still paying for the more reliable and capable cell service.
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iPhone 14 Users Get Free Emergency SOS via Satellite for Another Year
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Same reason any unactivated cellphone can call 911. Modern society shouldn't let people die in an emergency because they couldn't call for help.
One of the original two years has passed, so two more years from now would be a total of three.
Is that really the case? I wonder if the patient (or their insurance) does end up having to pay. Obviously, you are not directly charged to have it on the wall, but I bet they find a way to bill someone who needed it.
FWIW
DLM
I don't know what nonsense "Reeeeeeeeeeee Reeeeeeeeeeee" is, but I've not heard or read a anywhere, anywhere, complaining about this. Did you invent this myster poster just to complain?
I don't think they will ever charge for the basic service, but might later for an extended version that has regular texting or the like. My inReach has that option (full texting), but I just subscribe to the basic service when I'm on extended backpacking trips.
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So far... Apple has invested 450 million dollars in the Globalstar satellite infrastructure. With more to come.
At some point Apple would like a return on their investment.
Apple can absorb many costs with expensive RAM and SSD upgrades.
I would think a great "Return on their investment" would be the lives it's saved along the way. JUST this morning I read another article about someone by this on their iPhone 14 Pro in their Jeep that flipped over. You'd think a company like Apple that's always so forward thinking and promotes safety and stuff would take the hit here and keep this safety feature available to everyone, not just some elite group that pays extra.. This shouldn't be like Car Insurance.. If anything, it should just be included in AppleCare+
Rescued driver says Emergency SOS 'feels magical'
As Apple extends its free iPhone Emergency SOS service, a driver has described how it once saved his and a passengers life when their Jeep turned over in snow.
appleinsider.com
From the article:
Lu adds that Emergency SOS via satellite is "really great."
"You don't think about it until this kind of stuff happens," he continued. "And then when it happens, you get help. It feels magical that this stuff exists."
"I feel really grateful I'm still alive," he concluded.
Now, imagine this same article, but add in that he TRIED to aim his phone to the sky, and instead of it gathering details, it tells him he hasn't signed up for Satellite Service. How do you think this will be received by the masses then?
The iPhone is Apple’s cash cow and will be milked for all (they believe) it is worth.
Without the iPhone Apple would not be the trillion dollar company that it is today.
Apple makes money on…
…iPhone sales.
…third party app sales. (30%)
…Google searches.
…in-app purchases and subscriptions.
…Apple Care.
…iCloud accounts.
…etc.
The iPhone a consumable good with a high price tag and a short lifespan designed to drain peoples wallets while they are being distracted by the shiny bobble.
Or it could tell him that by using the service he is enrolling in the service. What happens if your car breaks down but you aren't enrolled in a roadside assistance program?
Ive always felt like this will eventually just be free and a standard service provided.
If they were to ever charge for it, I'd imagine it would be per use, billed afterwards, and relatively cheap (like a couple bucks per incident). You wouldn't want to gate its use behind a paywall that someone would have to do before they got help so they should be able to just use the service if they need it and deal with the bill when they're safe.
If they were to ever charge for it, I'd imagine it would be per use, billed afterwards, and relatively cheap (like a couple bucks per incident). You wouldn't want to gate its use behind a paywall that someone would have to do before they got help so they should be able to just use the service if they need it and deal with the bill when they're safe.
You are confused and misguided in believing that a company has any other motive then to increase returns on investments.
Apple cashes in on every marketing opportunity and cause. For example Climate Change, LGBTQ+ and education just to name a few.
So now Apple can save your life for the low low price of $9.95 a month.
Pay-per-use could be an option, same as calling a tow truck without roadside assistance.
As I said above, I think the emergency option will stay free, and they will charge for full satellite texting, and maybe some additional services.
I anticipate that at some point there will be some sort of tier to this service. Emergency 911 services will always be free while personal or business phone/text/internet via satellite will require a subscription.
But you are right, Apple doesn’t give anything away for free. I suspect that they have already imputed the cost of this program with Globalstar into the cost of manufacturing each new iPhone. I don’t know how much, it could be something like $100 for every 1,000 phones supported or $50 per call. Now that the program has been running for 1 year, they have a pretty good idea of how many satellite 911 calls are generated per 1 million phones, perhaps even broken down by region. They can use that data to broker a deal to keep moving this project forward. They might have already done this and realized that they overpaid Globalstar considering the number of calls that were actually made this past year, and Apple is now strong arming Globalstar to give an additional two years to existing customers because to service is so rarely used.
Even if Apple eats the cost of 911 satellite messaging, they could still write it off as a marketing expense. I am sure there’s a number of road warriors/outdoor adventure types that switched to Apple for this specific feature. Gotta admit that every life saved by this feature makes great news for Apple.
> Apple originally gave new iPhone 14 owners two free years after device activation, which would have expired in November 2024
Hopefully they decide to sell the iPhone 15 for more than 30 days.
Hopefully they decide to sell the iPhone 15 for more than 30 days.
They gave away iPhone MagSafe which is part of the Qi2 standard.
If Emergency Satellite SOS gets standardized in the same way that Emergency 911 does, part of the deal could be Apple recouping their initial investment.
I had OnStar included with my car in 2014, and have had the unfortunate benefit of having to rely on it when someone pulled out in front of me and I T-Boned a young kid in his relative's Mini Van. Airbag went off and completely destroyed by Left Wrist (Yes, I am still able to play guitar after much PT). In my opinion, OnStar saved my life. But BOY is it expensive. Is it worth the high cost, knowing it's just more insurance you pay for and only use, MAYBE, if you need it? Sure. But OnStar also lets me start my Car from my Phone and locate it from anywhere. Being able to start my Car at work far from my car on a super cold day is something I used ALL THE TIME. But ultimately found it to be too pricey. But to answer your Main Question, you just press the built in OnStar button and it connects you with someone who can start all the billing stuff for you. The good thing about OnStar, though, is that if you DO crash, it contacts YOU. If you're unconscious in your car, and they're talking to you and you don't respond, that's just another indicator for them to hurry the F up.
What would Apple have to charge extra for this? Why can't some feature people will want to rely on, but NOT use all the time (like I did with OnStar), just be included in AppleCare+ or even AppleOne+ or whatever... People aren't going to be roaming and texting or calling people for fun. It's going to be something their life will depend on in a desperate life threatening moment. To find out THEN that you'd have to pay extra to have an Ambulance come and get you, or worse even finding out the feature is just now expired??
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A great example of this is the handful of medical helicopter companies that charge you for a subscription. Pay us a small but still substantial amount to avoid the very small chance of paying us a huge amount. https://www.lifeflight.org/membership/
We have no idea how Apple will monetize this feature; as you said, they could easily add it one of their plans or just eat the costs int he name of good PR if their three years of research demonstrate that the costs are relatively low.
But I was replying to the crazy claim that someone would be denied SOS help just because they weren't enrolled in the service. Unlike onstar, someone already has a payment method on their Apple account so tapping an "I agree" button would be simple and easily transmitted via satellites.