Time.news – From today they can be carried out emergency calls with iPhone 14 even in the absence of field or wifi connection. Not only. You can also use the Find My app and share your location with rescuers. In Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal, all models of the iPhone 14 line will be able to connect directly to a satellite thanks to a combination of specially designed hardware components and integrated software.
The feature was launched late last year in Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States and has already helped save lives. The service is free for two years from the moment you activate a new iPhone 14 model
How does it work
If a user needs help and is in an area that has no network coverage, by holding down the side key and one of the volume keys, he can activate the “Emergency SOS” function. From here, an interface opens for “Emergency SOS via satellite”. A short questionnaire then appears on the screen and helps the user answer vital questions with a few simple taps, which are relayed to rescuers in an initial message, thus ensuring they are able to quickly understand the user’s situation and whereabouts.
To adapt the service to an emergency situation, Apple has designed and manufactured specific components and software and a text compression algorithm capable of reducing the average size of messages by 3 times. In this way, as explained by Apple, the user is able to send and receive messages in just 15 seconds in clear sky conditions.
The satellite connection on the iPhone 14 lineup also works with other safety features available on iPhone and Apple Watch, including Accident Detection and Fall Detection.