Apple iPhone 14 SOS satellite feature saves man’s life in Alaska: Check details here

Apple iPhone 14 SOS satellite feature: With the launch of iPhone 14 series in September 2022, Apple brought exclusive safety service feature - Emergency SOS via satellite --  to the latest iPhone 14 models. Now a new report has claimed that the Emergency SOS via satellite feature saved the life of a man stranded in Alaska in the US.

According to MacRumors, Alaska State Troopers received an alert on December 1 that a man travelling by snow machine from Noorvik to Kotzebue had become stranded. In a cold, remote location with no connectivity, the man activated Emergency SOS via satellite on his iPhone 14 to alert authorities to his predicament.

Apple's Emergency Response Center with local search and rescue teams send out volunteer searchers directly to the GPS coordinates that were relayed to Apple using the emergency function. The man was rescued successfully and there were no injuries, according to the report.

He was located in a remote area with limited satellite coverage. Apple says, as Noorvik and Kotzebue are close to 69Ao latitude, satellite connectivity might not be available in places above 62Ao latitude, such as northern parts of Canada and Alaska, the report added.

With iOS 16.1, Apple introduced Emergency SOS via Satellite feature, which allows iPhone 14 owners to contact emergency services even without a cellular or WiFi connection. Currently, satellite connectivity is available in North America, and the company will soon expand to France, Germany, Ireland and the UK.

Available on all iPhone 14 models, the technology enables users to message with emergency services while outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. With Emergency SOS via satellite, users can send and receive messages in as little as 15 seconds in clear conditions.

With Emergency SOS via satellite, if a user is not able to reach emergency services because no cellular or Wi-Fi coverage is available, an easy-to-use interface appears on iPhone to get the user help utilising a satellite connection.

The emergency services call centres to connect to even more users in emergency situations, and requires no additional software or protocols to enable communications.