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When Apple launched its iPhone 14 series of smartphones in 2022, the company also introduced a new feature: Emergency SOS via satellite. The feature, which allows users to send an SOS message even without cellular connectivity, was launched in Nov. 2022, and was enabled for free to all buyers of iPhone 14 phones — for two years.
Now, Apple has extended free access to Emergency SOS via satellite for an additional year.
The caveat here is that this is only valid for existing iPhone 14 users. From Apple’s announcement: “The free trial will be extended for iPhone 14 users who have activated their device in a country that supports Emergency SOS via satellite prior to 12 a.m. PT on November 15, 2023.”
As for iPhone 15 buyers, they get two years of free access to the service when they activate their phone.
The feature is available in 16 countries and regions; for a full list, check Apple’s website.
Apple’s Emergency SOS iPhone feature has already proved its worth; in August alone, a woman and her dog were rescued after a flash flood in Utah thanks to the feature, and a family trapped in a van during the Maui wildfires used the feature to call for help.
“Emergency SOS via satellite has helped save lives around the world. From a man who was rescued after his car plummeted over a 400-foot cliff in Los Angeles, to lost hikers found in the Apennine Mountains in Italy, we continue to hear stories of our customers being able to connect with emergency responders when they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPhone product marketing.
Apple never said how much it plans to charge for the service. Right now, it has no competition; none of the Android makers offer this functionality, though there are rumors that Samsung and Google’s Pixel phones will be among the first to get a similar feature.
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