Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite available for the iPhone 14 series proves its usefulness once again when it potentially saved the lives of two women who got lost while attempting to find their way back through a detour. The incident occurred in British Columbia, and it is the first time that Apple’s emergency feature has been used in a province of Canada.
The lack of Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature on the iPhone 14 meant that their detour could have taken hundreds of additional kilometers
A pair of women reportedly got lost on their trip back to Alberta on December 23, according to Times Colonist. iMore reports that an accident had happened on a highway, which for obvious reasons, had to be closed, forcing the two to take a detour through the Holmes Forest Service Road. Unfortunately, the service road that they took was unplowed, and they eventually got stuck.
It was later found that the two women got lost approximately 20 kilometers down the road, with no Wi-Fi or cellular service available, and that is where the iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature came in handy. Dwight Yochim, a senior manager with British Columbia Search and Rescue, explains how it all happened below.
Yochim also talks about the consequences if any of the two women did not have an iPhone 14 on them. In short, they would have drifted away even further, which would take a long time to find the two travelers.
When the iPhone 14 user activated the Emergency SOS via satellite, Yochim explained that the device sent a message to an Apple call center which then contacted Northern 911, which is a call center located in Canada. Shortly afterward, Northern 911 activates a call to emergency services in British Columbia, providing all the necessary information, including the person’s GPS location.
The practicality of having emergency services on the phone is invaluable, which is likely why Qualcomm introduced compatibility with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. As a result, the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S23 series will get satellite communication capabilities, competing directly with the iPhone 14 in this regard.
News Source: Times Colonist
