Apple iPhone 14 users can now enjoy an additional year of the company’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature, which will allow them to reach emergency services without cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Apple has announced this free extension that enables satellite-linked communication for two more years at no cost for iPhone 14 users. Apple had announced the Emergency SOS via satellite feature a year ago on November 15. The feature debuted with all iPhone 14 models in the US and Canada and now, it is also available on the iPhone 15 lineup in 16 countries and regions globally.
Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature is touted as a ground-breaking feature and has been saving lives worldwide in emergency.
“Emergency SOS via satellite has helped save lives around the world. From a man who was rescued after his car plummeted over a 400-foot cliff in Los Angeles, to lost hikers found in the Apennine Mountains in Italy, we continue to hear stories of our customers being able to connect with emergency responders when they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to,” Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing, said in a statement.
“We are so happy iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users can take advantage of this groundbreaking service for two more years for free.”
Notably, upcoming Android smartphones that were about to get their own version of Emergency SOS via satellite feature via Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Satellite is likely to face delay since Qualcomm has abandoned Snapdragon Satellite SOS feature for Android, which was competing with Apple’s iPhone emergency SOS feature. The partnership with Iridium, announced in January, Snapdragon Satellite SOS for Android has been terminated even before it saw the light of the day.
Earlier this week, Iridium revealed that Qualcomm opted to end their collaboration on the feature due to a lack of participation from smartphone manufacturers. Despite the successful development and demonstration of the feature, it faced a lack of interest in adoption, the media has reported.
To recall, Unveiled in January at CES 2023, Qualcomm announced collaborating with the Iridium satellite network and Garmin Response emergency rescue services to provide satellite connectivity for Android phones. The initial release is scheduled for the second half of this year, focusing on devices equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 flagship chipset in North American and European regions.