Apple's emergency SOS function will work by directing you to position your phone's camera in the direction of an overhead satellite. It will debut in November in the U.S. and Canada and will come as a complimentary addition to every iPhone 14 for a period of two years.
While the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro series have new features related to eSIM and photography, another new feature is emergency SOS via satellite communication. This means you can call for help no matter where you are, even in remote areas without a mobile data signal. Apple has developed a number of different technologies to make this work, eliminating the need for bulky hardware to communicate with a satellite above your head. It is free for two years with every iPhone 14 and will be available in the United States and Canada in November.
Apple's emergency SOS will function by directing you to point your phone at a satellite overhead. The company has created a custom text compression algorithm that allows messages to be sent to a satellite faster than ever before. Apple has also stated that it has collaborated with emergency experts to develop a list of the most common emergency questions so that you can simply tap an answer to a question rather than having to type out the full nature of your emergency. This means you can get assistance faster than ever before.
You can also use the Find My app to manually share your location via satellite. It's unclear how this will work when you can't move the phone to point it at a satellite, but we expect to hear more from the company as the launch of emergency SOS approaches. It's also unclear which satellites Apple will use for this feature, or whether it will use Starlink at all. Regardless, this is a significant safety feature that could save lives in the future, and we're eager to learn more about how it works.
