Apple’s Satellite Emergency SOS Feature May Expand to Other Regions Sooner Than We Thought

The Apple Watch and iPhone 14/14 Pro’s new Emergency SOS characteristic, which permits you to name for emergency assist by way of satellite tv for pc, is one of the extra compelling additions to the corporate’s newest units. It gives a means for customers to get assist in dire conditions with out mobile service or WiFi. Apple mentioned the service would launch first within the U.S. and Canada when it debuts in November. But a report from MacPrime signifies the corporate will help extra areas ahead of anticipated.

Unfortunately, the precise areas the place it’s soon-to-come haven’t been revealed. But Apple did inform MacPrime, a Swiss tech weblog, that the satellite tv for pc connectivity potential will come to extra nations this yr. This relies on a Google-translated model of MacPrime’s article, although 9to5Mac additionally reported on the information. We may also anticipate much more nations to get the Emergency SOS characteristic later, in 2023.

As we coated in our iPhone 14 Pro evaluation, the Emergency SOS characteristic allows you to get in contact with an OnStar-like approved employee regardless of the place you might be on the planet, offered you’ve gotten clear entry to the sky, by compressing your message to mere bits. The Emergency SOS characteristic depends on satellites excessive up in house to transmit that message to one in all Apple’s knowledge facilities, the place an attendant can be standing by to route the problem. The characteristic is barely obtainable on the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, the Apple Watch Series 8, second-gen Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra, because it depends on particular {hardware} to hook up with satellites.

Apple already has a support page for the iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS potential. The characteristic isn’t obtainable in Guam or American Samoa, and there’s a caveat that it won’t work above a sure latitude. It brings to thoughts how a lot infrastructure is required to launch this form of emergency broadcast community. The potential received’t be obtainable till an iOS 16 software program replace goes stay someday in Nov. 2022. We’re nonetheless ready for particulars on how a lot Apple’s satellite tv for pc companies will price, although new iPhone 14 customers will get the primary two years of service free.

I’m curious what Android will concoct when it helps satellite tv for pc connectivity. Android’s SVP, Hiroshi Lockheimer, subtly announced the power by way of a tweet. “Wild to think about user experiences for phones that can connect to satellites,” tweeted Lockheimer. “Excited to support our partners in enabling all of this in the next version of Android!”

The message got here via shortly after T-Mobile had introduced its plans to associate with SpaceX to help SMS, MMS, and choose messaging apps to satellite tv for pc to assist improve the scope of availability amongst its prospects. The provider has a late 2023 goal date for the beta for its companies.