Apple announced that iPhone 14 users in France, Germany, Ireland and Great Britain can now connect to emergency services when cellular communications and Wi-Fi are not available.
Emergency call – SOS through the satellite connects users who are in distress outside the mobile communication zone, with a specially trained Apple employee, which is then associated with emergency services on behalf of the victims. Users who are calling for local emergency services will be automatically redirected to 112, the European Emergency Assistance Service phone number.
“In practice, this means that much more people will be able to call 112 when they do not have mobile communications and they need urgent assistance,” said Harry Machado, General Director of the European Association of Emergency Services.
The service also allows users to notify their friends and family about their whereabouts through the Find My (locator) application when they are in a area where there is no cellular communication or Wi-Fi.
Emergency call through the satellite is available for the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max and works on iOS 16.2.