2023-07-05 17:29:33
The lesser-known option of your smartphone: this is how it can save your life if you get lost (Getty Creative)
A woman hiking outside Los Angeles broke her leg in a remote forest with no cell phone coverage, but was able to contact emergency services thanks to the new SOS feature of the iPhone 14who saved his life, as reported by >.
Juana Reyes was hiking with friends in a remote area of Trail Canyon Falls in the Los Angeles National Forest when the trail collapsed under her.
“We tried to call 911, but there was no coverage on our phones,” Reyes explains in an interview reported by the same outlet. “Fortunately, my phone has that SOS satellite feature that was able to connect to… I guess satellites,” the woman explained to the same outlet.
The function to which Reyes refers is that of “emergency SOS via satellite” of the iPhone 14.
When the iPhone 14 was launched, in September 2022, one of its key points was its satellite connectivity. In an emergency, the iPhone 14 series might connect to a low-orbit satellite and send an SOS message, even when there was no cellular signal on the phone.
Several Android phone manufacturers such as Xiaomi have now promised to support satellite connectivity, although they do not offer it at the moment. But what exactly is satellite connectivity and how does it work on iPhones and Android?
What is satellite connectivity?
A satellite phone, sometimes called a satphone, is a phone that connects to a telephone network via satellites orbiting the Earth. Unlike current smartphones, which connect to cell towers on the ground.
Most populated urban areas have a dense mesh of cell towers, but sparsely populated rural areas have a much lighter mesh of cell towers, and you’ll notice dropped calls and errors there much more frequently “out of network”. The more remote the area, the greater the chance of not having a usable network connection.
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This is where satellite phones come in handy. Instead of connecting to cell phone towers on the ground, satellite phones connect to satellites orbiting the Earth. The phone signal is transmitted directly to the nearest satellite, with each satellite serving significantly more of the Earth than a single cell tower. Satellite phone requires open sky and line of sight between the phone and the satellite. But effectively this removes the requirement to build a dense mesh of cell towers to promise a basic level of network connectivity.
Since model 14, the iPhone can connect to a low-orbit satellite and send an SOS message, even when there is no cellular signal on the phone. (Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
This is how it works on the iPhone 14
As explained by Apple itselfIn an emergency, iPhone 14 owners should call 911. If they don’t have coverage, the phone will try to connect to another carrier’s tower. If it doesn’t work, an option for “Emergency Text via Satellite” will appear.
An option will appear on the screen that will allow them to press to report an emergency.
Emergency questions will appear on the screen to help better describe the situation. The first question will be: “What is the emergency?” You will then be able to choose between options such as “Car or vehicle problem” or “Illness or injury”. Next, a series of more detailed questions will be asked.
The option will be given to notify the user’s emergency contacts so that they are aware that they have contacted emergency services, along with the location and nature of the emergency. Users can also use the “Find My” app to share location with friends and family via satellite.
To connect to a satellite, the phone will ask the user to point it towards the sky. As long as you have a clear view, you’ll need to be able to connect to a satellite, but Apple warns that it might take up to 15 seconds for messages to arrive. If there is no clear view of the sky, due to trees or other obstacles, it can take up to a minute for messages to arrive.
Once you have connected to the emergency services via satellite, they will immediately know the location and nature of the emergency. In addition, they will ask a few more questions to help emergency personnel locate the user and come prepared.
In addition, if the user has Medical ID set up through the iPhone’s Health settings, emergency services will be able to see important personal information, such as the medications they are taking and the names of emergency contacts.
What regarding Android phones?
Of course, with Apple leading the way in satellite connectivity on iPhones, Android makers are unlikely to sit still. So in January 2023, at CES, Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Satellite for Android, a technology that hasn’t yet reached users or commercial phones.
Snapdragon Satellite for Android is similar to Apple’s Emergency SOS feature, but broadens the use cases. In particular, it promises two-way messaging, allowing users to send and receive messages. And instead of being limited to a handful of devices, Qualcomm is making the service available to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, meaning all high-end smartphones that use this chip.
OEMs can choose to build a smartphone with this connectivity feature, but keep in mind that it won’t be available for existing phones, as it requires specific hardware antennas that aren’t present on current devices.
Qualcomm’s satellite partner for this service is Iridium. The service will be limited to North America and Europe at launch, with device manufacturers setting the price for the service. We do not know if the feature will be extended to more regions. As part of the vision for this service, two-way messaging will be opened up to non-emergency uses as well.
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