When your iPhone is out of mobile coverage, which usually means there’s no Wi-Fi in sight either, you’re normally completely cut off from the world, but with Emergency SOS coverage for iPhone 14 users now in Australia and NZ too, the world just got smaller – again!
Apple launched its groundbreaking Emergency SOS service for the iPhone 14 range when the iPhone 14, Apple Watch 8 and Apple Watch Ultra in September, 2022, but the service didn’t become available until mid-November in the US, and I remember being in Hawaii and testing it out the day it went live.
I was at the Qualcomm conference, ironically, with a feature no Android offers as yet, even if Qualcomm announced in January 2023 that a global emergency satellite service is coming, Apple is actually offering the capability now, in an impressive and growing 14 countries.
What is the Emergency SOS service, and how can you try a demo of it right now?
As Apple describes, it enables any iPhone 14 user in fourteen countries (listed below) users “to message with emergency services while outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. Additionally, if users want to reassure friends and family of their whereabouts while traveling in an area with no cellular or Wi-Fi coverage, they can now open the Find My app and share their location via satellite.”
To try a live demo of his Emergency SOS works on any iPhone 14 model, so you’ll be ready to use it if you ever need it, start by going outside where you have a clear view of the sky, and then tap on the Settings icon.
In the section that starts with “General”, followed by “Control Centre”, “Display and Brightness”, etc, and which ends with “Privacy and & Security” before there’s a space and the “App Store” and other settings section starts, you’ll see an entry called “Emergency SOS”.
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If you tap on Emergency SOS, you’ll see this is a section where you can choose to call SOS emergency services in various ways, whether by holding and releasing the top volume button on the left and the on/off “side” button on the right hand side of the iPhone at the same time or whether by pressing the right side button five times.
Here you can choose to call quietly if you want, because normally calling SOS by phone this way will set off a loud alarm sound, so if you want to call quietly so you don’t alarm an attacker, this would be a place to do it. There’s also a place here to have the iPhone call 000 after a severe crash, another iPhone 14 series exclusive feature.
You can set up emergency contacts in the Health app, but if you scroll to the bottom of this settings page, you’ll see that you can try a demo of the iPhone emergency satellite SOS service, which does take you through an excellent guided demo.
This is truly incredible, for there are many stretches of territory across Australia, let alone in the bush and the outback, where there is no mobile coverage whatsoever, and were there to be some kind of emergency, you’d normally have to have your own “emergency position indicating radio beacon” or (EPIRB), or your own satellite phone – which costs at least $1000 to buy – and costs much more than traditional phone plans to make phone calls – to ensure your safety.
Most people driving on highways between major cities where coverage can disappear don’t bother with an EPIRB or satellite phone, but now iPhone 14 owners who might need such a service can take advantage of it, free of charge for two years either from today, or from the purchase of a new iPhone 14 model.
Clueless commenters criticising Apple
I have seen some rather clueless commentary at some sites from individuals in the comments section of this News Ltd article criticising Apple, suggesting Androids already have this capability, or that the 000 emergency number in Australia has connected for them in places where their phone said SOS only.
Androids don’t have this capability, and because Optus and Vodafone, the two other major phone networks in Australia have approximately 1.2 square kilometres less coverage than the major telco Telstra in Australia, there would clearly be times when people on competing networks to Telstra, (or on a smaller telco that piggybacks on one of the major three networks such as Aldi, which is on Telstra but doesn’t have access to the entire Telstra footprint) ARE able to connect to that full Telstra network for emergency 000 calls.
But if you’re outside of that footprint, then that’s it – you won’t get the magical ability to connect to 000 if you’re not in range of any network at all.
What does it cost end-users, what does it cost Apple, and where in the Southern Hemisphere is this capability available?
As noted above, the service is free for the first two years of you owning an iPhone 14 or newer model. There is no indication as yet on what Apple will charge once the two year period is up, and hopefully, the price is reasonable, but how much is your life worth if you’re in an emergency and you have no other way to contact emergency services?
Obviously, if the price is too expensive, people will complain, but Apple wants people to be able to use this service in an emergency, and Android competitors will presumably start offering a similar service in the years to come, if not sooner, so let’s see what happens.
That said, the technology and capability hasn’t come cheap for Apple: it has paid Globalstar $450 million USD https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/11/emergency-sos-via-satellite-made-possible-by-450m-apple-investment/ to build the capability in the Northern Hemisphere, and to staff a dedicated emergency response HQ to handle these emergency SOS messages via a special SMS service.
Whether the Globalstar deal is what is powering the Australian and NZ emergency SOS deal is unknown, we will presumably find out in due course.
However, I did wonder how long it would be before Apple would be able to launch the service in Australia, let alone NZ, and amazingly, that has happened in less than a year! I thought it might take at least a year or two, but thankfully, Apple doesn’t much around.
I’m sure those in the various islands of the Pacific will be wondering when they are next, but Australia and New Zealand are the 13th and 14th countries to get Emergency SOS, joining Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, the U.K., and the U.S., where Emergency SOS via satellite and Find My via satellite are currently available, with both services requiring iOS 16.4 or later.
Which iPhone 14 models are compatible, and where have lives already been saved?
All of them – the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, as these are the models which can connect directly to satellite through what Apple explains is “a combination of custom-designed hardware components and deeply integrated software.”
Of course, iPhones have already offered a range of existing emergency features, including Emergency SOS, Medical ID, emergency contacts, and Find My location sharing, which Emergency SOS via satellite now joins, “offering the ability to connect to a satellite to share critical information with emergency services, family, and friends.”
It really is a game-changer, with the service connecting users to relay centres staffed with Apple-trained emergency specialists who are ready to contact Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) — or emergency services call centres — on the userʼs behalf to get them the help they need.
Indeed, since launching last year, Emergency SOS via satellite has already helped save lives in the 12 countries where it has been available – and no doubt, Australian and New Zealand lives will shortly be saved, too.
Michelle Rowland, Australia’s Federal Minister for Communications, is quoted by Apple stating: The Albanese government welcomes the launch of this innovative safety capability. Australians know full well the importance of remaining connected in regional, rural, and remote areas, particularly when they need emergency services. The ability to contact Triple Zero with Emergency SOS via satellite when there is no mobile coverage is a strong backup to keep Australians connected in an emergency.
“This will go a long way in helping emergency services respond to, protect, and ultimately, keep individuals safe from harm. Australians are encouraged to familiarise themselves with this feature and whether their device supports it.”
How does Emergency SOS via Satellite work? Here is Apple’s explanation:
iPhone can already quickly and easily call emergency services if a user is in need of help, even if they are unable to dial 000, by pressing and holding the side button with one of the volume buttons until the Emergency SOS slider appears.
With Emergency SOS via satellite, an easy-to-use interface appears on iPhone to get the user help utilising a satellite connection if they are not able to reach emergency services because no cellular or Wi-Fi coverage is available. A short questionnaire appears to help the user answer vital questions with a few simple taps, which are transmitted to dispatchers in the initial message, to ensure they are able to quickly understand the userʼs situation and location. Apple worked closely with experts to review standard questions and protocols to identify the most common reasons for calling emergency services.
Following the questionnaire, the intuitive interface guides the user where in the sky to point their iPhone to connect and send the initial message. This message includes the userʼs questionnaire responses; location, including altitude; iPhone battery level; and Medical ID, if enabled. The transcript with relay centre specialists can also be shared with the userʼs emergency contacts to keep them informed.
Satellites move rapidly, have low bandwidth, and are located more than a thousand kilometres away from Earth, so it can take a few minutes for even short messages to get through. Apple designed and built custom components and software that allow iPhone 14 to connect to a satelliteʼs unique frequencies without a bulky antenna.
A text compression algorithm was also developed to reduce the average size of messages by 3x, making the experience as fast as possible. With Emergency SOS via satellite, users can send and receive messages in as little as 15 seconds in clear conditions.
Using the built-in Emergency SOS via satellite demo, users can test satellite connectivity on their iPhone by connecting to a real satellite in range without contacting emergency services, allowing them to experience the process and familiarise themselves with the service.
For users who go out of cellular or Wi-Fi range but donʼt experience an emergency, this advanced technology also enables them to share their location via satellite with Find My. In the Find My app, users can open the Me tab, swipe up to see My Location via Satellite, and tap Send My Location. The satellite connection on the iPhone 14 lineup also works with other safety features available on iPhone and Apple Watch, including Crash Detection and Fall Detection.
Apple also notes that connection and response times vary based on location, site conditions, and other factors, and that more information is available here.
