Soon, the happy owners of a iPhone 14 will be able to make emergency calls in a rather unusual way. Indeed, these SOS will not go through the traditional network but via satellite.
But for the moment, this function which could well save lives is unfortunately only planned for a handful of countries.
A truly life-saving feature
Next November, Apple will launch Satellite Emergency SOS on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro (with iOS 16.1). As its name suggests, this tool will contact emergency services if no Wi-Fi or cellular network is available. The message will then be transmitted to the authorities by satellite in order to guarantee rapid intervention when the situation requires it. A messaging system that could thus avoid many tragedies.
In order to put this system in place, Apple has partnered with Globalstar, an American company specializing in satellite communications. It has chosen to allocate 85% of its current and future network to ensure the functionality runs smoothly. A two-year free period is in effect and customers may be billed once this period has elapsed.
A big limitation on a global scale
Unfortunately, this partnership is only valid within the United States. That’s why the Satellite Emergency SOS feature was only announced for the United States and Canada. But according to MacPrime, Apple is already thinking of extending it to a third territory, the name of which we do not know for the moment. For a deployment to the four corners of the globe, it will undoubtedly be much more difficult…
Indeed, Apple will have to find for each country (or continent) a supplier such as Globalstar to generously offer a part of its satellite network which it will allocate to these urgent communications. It won’t be an easy task unless the American manufacturer decides to send its own satellites into space… A rumor that has been circulating since 2019.
Anyway, France, or even Europe as a whole, should not be affected for a while.
Source : Wccftech
Apple iPhone 14
smartphone
release date: 16-09-2022
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