iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS satellite feature is coming to New Zealand and Australia

iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS satellite feature is coming to New Zealand and Australia. A feature that actually saved lives.

Function SOS satellite emergency iPhone 14 was launched last year in the United States and Canada. Soon after it reached France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Now she is too Available in New Zealand and Australia, two states with large territories with very little cell service. As in other countries, the option is available to all iPhone 14 users, regardless of their identity, who are running iOS 16.4 or later, and the service is free for years after activating the device.

iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS satellite feature is coming to New Zealand and Australia

“Australians are well aware of the importance of communicating in rural areas, far from civilization, especially in an emergency situation,” Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland explained in a press release. “The ability to contact Triple Zero with Emergency SOS via satellite when there is no mobile phone coverage is an important security to keep Australians in touch with rescue.”

Emergency SOS via satellite is activated by long pressing the power button and volume button or by quickly pressing the power button five times. The interface then directs the user in which direction to point the iPhone to get the best signal. Once connected, you can open a message interface with the emergency services and the phone also communicates your location. If all goes well, you will get a message saying that the emergency services have been notified and that you must stay where you are.

A feature that actually saved lives

You can also share your location with your loved ones in non-emergency situations via the Find My app. Users simply open the “Me” tab, swipe to “Satellite location” and click “Submit my location.” It also works with crash detection and fall detection on iPhone and Apple Watch. There’s even a demo mode that lets you practice using Satellite Emergency SOS so you can act quickly in a real emergency.

“Since its launch last year, Emergency SOS via Satellite has saved lives in the 12 countries where this feature is available,” Apple said. He added that users should be patient when using this feature, as “it may take a few minutes, even for SMS,” due to low bandwidth and high satellite speeds.