Photo: Apple
Apple’s Crash Detection feature available on the iPhone 14 helped save the lives of the five passengers in a truck that hit a tree in Australia earlier this week.
The vehicle was towing a horse float, but the driver lost control and eventually went off the road, hitting a tree stump in Tasmania late at night.
All passengers were immediately knocked unconscious, but luckily, one of them had an iPhone 14 that detected the violent crash and reached out to the local emergency services.
The first responders arrived at the scene in eight minutes, with four of the passengers then rushed to the hospital. One of them suffered more serious injuries, so was transported by helicopter to Melbourne.
Apple’s Crash Detection has so far provided mixed results, but even so, keeping it enabled seems to be a good idea.
Developed specifically to be a life-saving technology, Crash Detection relies on the sensors integrated into the smartphone, including the gyroscope and the accelerometer, to determine whether you’ve been involved in a crash or not. The device then displays a message on the screen, waiting for the owner to provide any sort of feedback.
If the phone owner does not respond, the iPhone assumes they are unconscious and initiates a 911 call. The operator is provided with the location of the presumed accident, allowing the emergency teams to find the victim faster.
In the case of the crash in Tasmania, the first responders needed only eight minutes to get to the scene.
But while the Crash Detection system can sometimes prove to be life-saving technology, it’s not always as accurate as it was in this particular case.
Earlier this week, authorities in Japan revealed that the iPhone Crash Detection is responsible for a significant share of the false calls local emergency services received lately, especially as the device mistakes people falling while skiing with a vehicle collision. As a result, the iPhone, which is typically carried in the pocket, believes the owner needs help and starts an emergency call.
Apple has already released a series of improvements for Crash Detection, and while the feature can sometimes make a huge difference for the people involved in the crash, it can also prove a double-edged sword if it keeps spamming emergency teams with false calls.
Crash Detection is only available on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models, but it can also be activated on the Apple Watch Series 8, second-generation Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra. In order to initiate the call, the Apple device needs a cellular connection or Wi-Fi calling support if it’s connected to a nearby Wi-Fi network. The feature is enabled by default on these new-generation devices, so no input is required on your side to use it, as it can start the automatic call, just like it did following the crash in Australia, all by itself.
All passengers were immediately knocked unconscious, but luckily, one of them had an iPhone 14 that detected the violent crash and reached out to the local emergency services.
The first responders arrived at the scene in eight minutes, with four of the passengers then rushed to the hospital. One of them suffered more serious injuries, so was transported by helicopter to Melbourne.
Apple’s Crash Detection has so far provided mixed results, but even so, keeping it enabled seems to be a good idea.
Developed specifically to be a life-saving technology, Crash Detection relies on the sensors integrated into the smartphone, including the gyroscope and the accelerometer, to determine whether you’ve been involved in a crash or not. The device then displays a message on the screen, waiting for the owner to provide any sort of feedback.
If the phone owner does not respond, the iPhone assumes they are unconscious and initiates a 911 call. The operator is provided with the location of the presumed accident, allowing the emergency teams to find the victim faster.
In the case of the crash in Tasmania, the first responders needed only eight minutes to get to the scene.
But while the Crash Detection system can sometimes prove to be life-saving technology, it’s not always as accurate as it was in this particular case.
Earlier this week, authorities in Japan revealed that the iPhone Crash Detection is responsible for a significant share of the false calls local emergency services received lately, especially as the device mistakes people falling while skiing with a vehicle collision. As a result, the iPhone, which is typically carried in the pocket, believes the owner needs help and starts an emergency call.
Apple has already released a series of improvements for Crash Detection, and while the feature can sometimes make a huge difference for the people involved in the crash, it can also prove a double-edged sword if it keeps spamming emergency teams with false calls.
Crash Detection is only available on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models, but it can also be activated on the Apple Watch Series 8, second-generation Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra. In order to initiate the call, the Apple device needs a cellular connection or Wi-Fi calling support if it’s connected to a nearby Wi-Fi network. The feature is enabled by default on these new-generation devices, so no input is required on your side to use it, as it can start the automatic call, just like it did following the crash in Australia, all by itself.
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