The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus Are Official With Satellite-Based Emergency SOS (theverge.com) 94
Apple has announced the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, preserving much of the iPhone 13's design -- including a notch for the phone's selfie camera and Face ID sensors. From a report: Either way, the 14 looks an awful lot like the 13 at first glance, with the same flat display and rails. The US models of the iPhone 14 also do away with the physical SIM tray, going all-in on eSIM. The standard iPhone 14 model starts at $799, and the 14 Plus starts at $899. The iPhone 14 will also support the much-rumored emergency messaging via communication satellites when you're out of range of a cell signal, called Emergency SOS. The phone's antennas can connect to satellite frequencies. Apple says it can take less than 15 seconds to send a message with a clear view of the sky, and the interface guides users to point their phone in the right direction, as well as walking through steps to connect with emergency service providers. It's also possible to use the Find My app to share location without sending a message. It's free for two years with iPhone 14 models. The iPhone 14 sticks with a 6.1-inch screen, while the 14 Plus offers a big 6.7-inch screen. The 14 Plus model claims to offer the best battery life of any iPhone. Both models continue to offer last year's A15 Bionic chipset -- a major shift for Apple, which has typically introduced a new processor to be used by its entire iPhone portfolio every year.
each message costs $5 each way! (Score:3, Informative)
each message costs $5 each way! $5 / message may be big but's a lot lower then the $20K air ambulance bill.
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You use the $5 message to call the $20K air ambulance
Re: each message costs $5 each way! (Score:2)
A satellite message system with no contract would be expected to cost more that a landline pay phone.
Let me guess, when you slide off a hiking trail and you can't get a cellphone signal, you'll smugly announce "There's no way I'm paying $5 just to be rescued!"
The goal is to never need it, and if you do need it, $5 seems reasonable.
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I'm curious what the target audience is... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I'm curious what the target audience is... (Score:5, Insightful)
Most people using some sort of emergency communication that uses satellites will want the device to be a bit more robust than the typical cell phone...
No, people planning ahead for using some sort of emergency communication do.
This helps people who need emergency communications but didn't plan ahead to need it.
Re:I'm curious what the target audience is... (Score:4, Insightful)
Not everywhere we go during our normal daily activities (unless you live in an urban center) has good cell phone coverage. I'll have to see what the service costs during the out years.
Why insane? (Score:2)
If you are going back country hiking and relying on iPhone satellite communication features, you're borderline insane.
Why is that insane? That is incredibly reasonable, just as is having any other emergency device with you. I don't see any reason why the iPhone is less desirable than the other dedicated devices, and I see a lot of reasons why the iPhone is more desirable.
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The battery life is just a day. While I don't think you need an emergency device to go hiking, if you do need one you probably want one that will stay charged.
Not much different an issue. (Score:1)
The battery life is just a day.
I have an emergency contact device that I can set to record and transmit my location once an hour or so, set to that mode it's not much more than a day or two as well.
So I've always brought a portable battery pack, or even a solar charger for longer trips.
While I don't think you need an emergency device to go hiking
You don't until you do, even many casual trails have no cell service, and the variety of ways people end up hurting themselves on even the simplest of trails is ama
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You're blinded by your pathological devotion to Apple. iPhones are absurdly fragile. If you're hiking anywhere even remotely remote, you'll want something a lot more robust.
Release your anger (Score:1)
You're blinded by your pathological devotion to Apple.
Alternate theory: you are blinded by your hatred of them.
iPhones are absurdly fragile. If you're hiking anywhere even remotely remote, you'll want something a lot more robust.
I have been hiking in a LOT of remote places (especially Utah, but also other countries) and never once had an issue.
In fact they have been great because sometimes when you are hiking up streams in slot canyons you don't want to have to keep your phone/camera locked away in a bag s
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No. Unlike you, I'm objective. I've also replaced so many iPhone screens for friends and neighbors that I've lost count. They break almost as easily as their self-destructing lightening cables. They're also a lot less waterproof than you imagine them to be. I have a few lightly moistened iPhone boards in the electronics scrap box waiting to go to recycling.
iPhones are fragile. You definitely want something more robust if you're doing any serious hiking. It's far more dangerous than you realize. As Ed T
No Experience Detected (Score:1)
No. Unlike you, I'm objective
Unlike you, I'm experienced. Therefore, I am correct, and as any causal reader knew from the start, you are simply wrong.
You sound like teh city boy who has never travelled in nature and is worried about wild rocks floating of their own volition crushing phones. You don't know anything about, well anything...
I'll let you have the last word as you have shown to be utterly uninformed and therefore not worth responding to further. People who have actually hiked through rough ter
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How fragile do you think they are? I'd guess they're about the same as my ZTE phone for durability and it's been fine
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If you are going back country hiking and relying on iPhone satellite communication features, you're borderline insane.
That all depends on how well the feature works. The EMS-summoning infrastructure standing behind the satellite link looks complex from today's presentation, and this first version of it will undoubtedly be buggy. But give Apple a few iterations, and Spot will be as outclassed and obsolete as that built-in car navigation you paid Ford a premium for.
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If you are going back country hiking and relying on
You missed the GP's point. No one is going back country hiking and relying on anything. They are going back country hiking ill-prepared without appropriate gear and get stuck somewhere. They just happen to have a device that can use in emergency if they are lucky enough that by fluke it is charged an undamaged.
Never underestimate just how over confident people are.
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Exactly. There are many urban hiking trails and such near where I live, and during the summer, SAR gets called nightly because people went for a
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The last two examples you provide are where the real value comes in. Situations in which it's reasonable to embark without a specialty emergency satellite communication device.
Re:I'm curious what the target audience is... (Score:4, Insightful)
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Which is why you need to follow Starfleet standards: you have your main device, your primary backup and your secondary backup!
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Which is why you need to follow Starfleet standards: you have your main device, your primary backup and your secondary backup!
If Starfleet actually followed those standards, half of the Star Trek episodes would be five minutes long.
Re:I'm curious what the target audience is... (Score:5, Insightful)
A counter argument, driving through remote parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Lower East Side (NYC), etc. where you don't expect to need an emergency locator beacon - an extra bit of emergency kit can be handy.
I think some people don't realize that there are sections of major highways in some states that have spotty cell service, to say nothing of mountain passes and the like. Most people probably aren't going to buy a dedicated device for the relatively small amount of time they don't have service, but they might well appreciate being able to use their phone for that purpose should they need to.
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This helps people who need emergency communications but didn't plan ahead to need it.
Well... for certain values of "Emergency" anyway. Ones under the right circumstances, that will allow time to go through everything: clear sky, pointing the phone in the right direction -- it's an iPhone, so I also assume holding it correctly :-) -- walking through all the required steps ... *then* only 15s to summon help ...
Apple says it can take less than 15 seconds to send a message with a clear view of the sky, and the interface guides users to point their phone in the right direction, as well as walking through steps to connect with emergency service providers.
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You don't have to go far to not have a cellular reception. For example, go into a national park, some semi-populated area or an area with poor line radio visibility to a tower. Many people are willing to accept to be temporarily with a signal and aren't ready to spend the extra money on a dedicated satellite phone. The problem is that an accident can happen just when you lost signal.
If $5 is the price between life and death, then I'd be willing to pay for it. It isn't as if that $5 is going to get you far i
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The problem is a large portion of accidents tend to damage the very fragile devices you're relying on in this case. If you regularly go hiking then consider your life to be worth more like $200 and feel comfortable in the knowledge that when you fall down a cliff face and break both your legs and your personal transponder breaks your fall, it will likely still work. You just need to shake the broken glass from you iPhone screen off it and hit that emergency button.
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> This helps people who need emergency communications but didn't plan ahead to need it.
Are these Clarke Belt birds? Will they work on the North side of a mountain?
Are they more robust? (Score:1)
Most people using some sort of emergency communication that uses satellites will want the device to be a bit more robust
I have one that requires a subscription, that I've enabled a few times (the subscription, never used the device to ask for help).
I'm not sure how the emergency device is much more robust than the phone in a good case. I already keep an emergency phone charging battery in a pack anyway so it's not even like battery life is an issue.
The iPhone emergency feature seems a lot more robust fro
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People traveling more than 24 hours from a 120v power supply often carry, or at the very least, are up to date on the latest emergency signaling tech. Lots of people offshore exist, but right now you need a $200+ device to talk to a Safety At Sea satellite if you're beyond the ~200 mile range of coastguard VHF radios set upon hills and towers.
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My experience with Spot is that it is an extremely klunky device, both software and hardware, and there is no way to know whether it is going to work at any given time, since there is no way to actually test the emergency feature. Only communication to "friends" can be tested.
What is the satellite service? (Score:3)
Re: What is the satellite service? (Score:2)
Well, either Orbcomm or Iridium. Not sure who else it could be.
Thought it was StarLink (Score:1)
Pretty sure I read in a previous story it was a combination of StarLink and T-Mobile. Would make more sense since those satellites are lower.
Re: Thought it was StarLink (Score:2)
T-Mobile + StarLink will allow any lte phone to work via satellite including those available right now, but wonâ(TM)t be until the gen 2 satellites are launched. It relies on a separate payload/transceiver on the satellite that isnâ(TM)t poss to put on the v1.5 birds.
What Apple is announcing will occur now, before SpaceX launched their first v2 satellite.
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Not that much (Score:1)
having to buy a new $1000+ phone to get it,
It's on all the iPhone 14 models, not just pro... still a bit expensive ($799 base) but not $1k.
Personally I think it's worth it as I'd always want to have a phone for other reasons, so it's great I can leave the emergency contact device and carry a smaller backup charging battery.
One thing this would not replace though, is a locator beacon in case of avalanche... more the emergency contact devices.
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Or Globalstar or Starlink or Iridium (Score:2)
or Thuraya
or Apple decides to launch their own constellation
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or Thuraya
or Apple decides to launch their own constellation
"Pomum?"
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SpaceX Starlink just announced a similar service that works with any phone without "special frequencies" but I don't think it is in service yet.
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> but I don't think it is in service yet.
Don't worry. It'll be ready to go the year after full-self-driving is released and switched on.
Re:What is the satellite service? (Score:4, Informative)
Globalstar. https://www.reuters.com/techno... [reuters.com]
Re:good, but ... (Score:4, Informative)
Emergency services will be billed by apple and have an 30% apple service fee added.
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Well, since Tmo+SpaceX already announced plans to enable Tmo phones to send messages directly via Starlink (without relying on any custom phone hardware), I suspect this emergency SOS from Apple may have already been one-upped. It's a handy thing to have, but it seems like it'll soon be something a person could do with normal SMS (or possibly a dedicated app) on any Tmo phone. If they wanted to, SpaceX could make an emergency SOS app available for compatible phones from any carrier, free of charge... they
Re: good, but ... (Score:3)
That will depend on v2 satellites which realistically wonâ(TM)t fly for a few years unless they actually get starship working.
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Either way, I think a dedicated satellite SOS feature that requires extra hardware on a phone is probably going to be a short-lived feature. If SpaceX can get data to/from a Tmo phone with standard hardware, there's no reason they couldn't do it for other phones (granted, it might make use of the lower frequencies Tmo tends to support, to help penetrate clouds and such, so a handset that doesn't include those bands might not work).
If we're talking basic text messages from phone -> sat now, I imagine it
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Considering Elon Musk's chronic problem with (not) meeting promised schedules and deadlines; at this point I'm no longer prepared to believe in his "plans" until I can walk in to a store, buy the thing, and use it immediately. If he were capable of keeping, or inclined to keep, his promises, our cars would all have been chauffeuring us around when we were drunk, sleeping, reading the newspaper, or watching TV, for literally *years* now.
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True, and yet... fully autonomous cars are a much harder problem to solve than doppler shift.
What we really need is a standalone cellular watch (Score:1)
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1st call (Score:2)
"Help! Apple's prices are robbery!"
I will predict the future for you (Score:1, Interesting)
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I thought you were talking shit, because no article I have seen has mentioned it being a paid service. But there it is in the fine print:
https://www.apple.com/iphone-1... [apple.com]
If you don’t have cell service or WiFi, iPhone lets you text emergency services over satellite.5
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5. Service is included for free for two years with the activation of any iPhone 14 model. Connection and response times vary based on location, site conditions, and other factors. See https://support.apple.com/kb/H... [apple.com] for more information.
Amusingly, the page they linked for more information doesn't exist. Guess that server doesn't have cell service or wi-fi, and could benefit from a free 2 year satellite service plan.
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Seems fine now.
heh, don't go too far north with it:
Emergency SOS via satellite might not work in places above 62 degree latitude, such as northern parts of Canada and Alaska.
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Three years in, someone will die lost and alone in the wilderness because they did not subscribe to the SOS service and their two free years had expired. Family will sue the pants off of Apple because the device had the capability to save their life but refused to do it.
Apple can avoid this awful fate by allowing non-subscribed devices to still send satellite-SOS messages at the special "non-subscriber a la carte rate", aka $$$$/message (but pretty much any price beats dying, amirite?)
I wonder (Score:1)
Bigger is not better for my usage of a mobile (Score:1)
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iPhone 13 mini is the closest one. And it still has a SIM tray.
How does the satcom work? (Score:2)
SpaceX/TMobile explained that they are using what is essentially a low-priority simulated cell tower beaming from the StarLink satellites using TMobile's frequencies.
That last part is the important part: TMobile already owns this frequencies in the USA, so they can kind of use it for that.
But Apple doen't own frequency bands, so they must have partnered with Spot or someone else. But that would imply that they have to have an additional radio and antenna in
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Eric Cartman gets an iPhone 14 ... (Score:5, Funny)
The phone's antennas can connect to satellite frequencies.
Yes, but it's very uncomfortable to use [youtube.com] ... :-)
so Cringely was right in June (Score:1)
Which satellites? (Score:2)
Has there been any indication to which satellites will be used for the satellite feature? I couldn't see anything in the specs.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/0... [cnbc.com]
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No. Odd that CNBC didn't cover that Apple mentioned Globalstar is their partner https://www.reuters.com/techno... [reuters.com]
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Globalstar
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Nothing of the sort. SIM cards exist for the purpose of linking a carrier network to a device. e-SIMs do the job just as well and can even be moved from device to device with ease, bonus point for not needing a damn paperclip to get the thing out.
Both the wife and I have phones with both types. Neither of us use SIMs, why bother. We'll request one if we feel the need to downgrade to a device without an eSIM.
Re: Another step backwards (Score:2)
Yeah. That does t work if your employer (like mine) refuses to let you use an eSIM for their line.
I was going to buy a 14 Pro Max, to replace my dead phone. I waited a month for today...but a 14 would mean I would have to carry two phones. Fuck that. I just came back from a local Apple Store with a 13 Pro Max.
Fucking dickheads at Apple!
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Fuck Apple because of your employer's policy? Did you also say fuck Apple back when most employers refused to allow iPhones as company phones ?
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Fuck Apple for a lot of reasons...nothing to do with my employer.
The travel case for SIM cards is well know.
The fact that Apple is making sim tray versions available outside the US speaks volumes.
What if you're incapacitated? (Score:1)
Re: What if you're incapacitated? (Score:2)
Yeah. Live your life in fear every moment because of whatnot might happen.....never travel alone! Wear a condom when masturbating! Always have mommy cut your meat so you don't injury yourself!
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It looks like there are way more people wanting to compensate for a lack of something by getting BIG phones.
The 13 mini is enough for me, thanks.
Satellite SOS valuable if there's a disaster. (Score:2)
I can recall a few times when satellite SOS would have been useful for people, and not because they got lost out in some desert. I believe a better example would be a storm knocking out cell phone towers and people in need of contacting emergency services to let them know where they are.
I had a wind storm drop a big tree on my house a few years ago and I thought it might be important to let someone know about it. It turned out that about 200 people in the area had big trees land on their house, and with s
Rotten Applesauce (Score:2)
So sick of these advertisements for rotten fruit. Has /. been bought out by Apple? Proprietary bullshit is not what open source is about.