Within this month, Apple will add Emergency SOS via satellite service to six new countries. When no other means of reaching emergency services are available, users can use Emergency SOS via satellite. Emergency SOS can be accessed via satellite on the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro models.
If users are unable to connect to call or text emergency services due to outside the range of cellular and wi-fi coverage, the supported iPhone attempts to connect the user to the assistance they need via satellite.
Firstly, the feature was only available in the US and Canada, the company expanded to the UK, France, Germany, and Ireland. The feature will be added to users in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Portugal this month, the company said in a press release.
Emergency SOS via satellite allows users outside of cellular or wi-fi coverage to communicate with emergency services and it can also be used to find your own location and share it with friends and family.
Users can use the Emergency SOS via satellite when outside of cellular or wi-fi coverage to communicate with emergency services but can also be use the service to find one’s own location to share it with friends and family using the Find My app.
Since the service takes takes some time to establish a connection with the satellites, the iPhone will ask the users a few pre-programmed questions while it searches for a signal. Apple suggests to create a Medical ID, add emergency contacts, and test the Emergency SOS demo before heading to a location with limited cellular and wi-fi coverage.
According to Apple, users can keep their phone in their hand without raising their arm or holding it up while trying to connect to a satellite, but advises against putting it in a pocket or backpack. Dense foliage and obstructions can also disrupts the service
Text messages are reduced three times using a propriety Apple compression algorithm to improve communication speed because of the limited bandwidth on cellular networks.