iPhone 14 Emergency SOS


Starting in November, iPhone 14 models will support a new emergency satellite texting feature. Emergency texting is likely an edge case product but could be poised to be a major attraction for new and upgrading customers. The concept is users gain a new option for rescue when in remote locations without cellular or WiFi coverage.

I have a Garmin InReach for such situations. For example, recently, I was at Isle Royale National Park, where there is no cellular or available WiFi coverage on the island. It's also a nice piece of mind when driving in areas with cellular dead zones.

I pay a monthly fee and carry an extra device for something I hope never to need. The InReach does have other functions other than emergency texting, such as I can request weather and marine forecasts and I can text with specific contacts. Apple service, at least at launch, won't have these capabilities. InReach also allows me to share my location with specific contacts, which Apple will support with Find My service.

I'm hopeful Emergency SOS will replace my Garmin. Key questions will be reception capabilities. Apple's presentation indicates you need to point the phone to the sky to find satellites and hold that position to transmit and receive messages. It will be interesting to see how the Find My tracking feature may work, whether users will need to sort of manually update their location or if it may be able to do it in the background.

Apple will offer the service at no cost for two years with an iPhone 14 purchase. Apple hasn't yet disclosed the subscription cost. I'm assuming we'll learn that inside the terms and conditions once the service goes live. It will be interesting whether Apple offers it as a monthly subscription, perhaps make it a part of Apple One, or if it will be per-use fees. I wonder, too, if Apple will continue two years of no charge with future iPhone purchases. Another possibility is a "plus" subscription will bring new features, such as preset messages, to specific contacts.

Another thing to consider, Apple could have a problem if it made a potentially life-saving feature unavailable to its customers when needed. I feel that anyone should be able to activate the feature without needing an active subscription before they go off the grid. So, it will be interesting to see how pricing works out as Apple rolls out the service.