iPhones sold in India will require panic button starting in 2017
As of January 1, 2017, all phones in India -- including iPhones -- will have to have some form of panic button to improve the security of women in the country, according to a new government order.
By January 2018, all phones will also have to have built-in GPS, said the Indian Express. That should allow a phone's location to be shared when the panic button is hit. iPhones have had GPS since the iPhone 3G.
In the case of "feature" phones, people must be able to trigger the panic function by hitting the 5 or 9 keys. The situation becomes more complex with smartphones however, most of which don't have a numeric keypad.
Instead, those devices will either have to add a dedicated button, or tie the option to an existing power button. The latter is more likely in the case of iPhones, as Apple normally avoids making region-specific hardware changes unless it involves supporting local wireless networks.
The Indian government is suggesting that companies going that route use a triple-click command, which would be relatively easy to implement in a future version of iOS as a region-specific setting.
iOS already has a pair of emergency functions, including Medical ID and the ability to dial emergency numbers without unlocking a device. India's panic button is meant for cases where an incident like rape or assault is imminent, however, and there might not be time or opportunity to dial as usual.
By January 2018, all phones will also have to have built-in GPS, said the Indian Express. That should allow a phone's location to be shared when the panic button is hit. iPhones have had GPS since the iPhone 3G.
In the case of "feature" phones, people must be able to trigger the panic function by hitting the 5 or 9 keys. The situation becomes more complex with smartphones however, most of which don't have a numeric keypad.
Instead, those devices will either have to add a dedicated button, or tie the option to an existing power button. The latter is more likely in the case of iPhones, as Apple normally avoids making region-specific hardware changes unless it involves supporting local wireless networks.
The Indian government is suggesting that companies going that route use a triple-click command, which would be relatively easy to implement in a future version of iOS as a region-specific setting.
iOS already has a pair of emergency functions, including Medical ID and the ability to dial emergency numbers without unlocking a device. India's panic button is meant for cases where an incident like rape or assault is imminent, however, and there might not be time or opportunity to dial as usual.
Comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate
Which is the bigger problem?
The threat of dying if one (or many) attack a woman could prove an effective deterrent.
@SpamSandwich This chart compares Rape and Other Sexual assaults by country. Interesting where India is as compared to the US. Not sure if this means they are under-reported in India because of what we are lead to believe. I do suspect they are under-reported in all countries listed though.
Not to mention the added possibility that the perpetrator could get ahold of the gun and end up killing the woman (above and beyond sexually assaulting them). Making the situation far more dangerous.
The real solution here is eliminating the bias/corruption in the police and judicial systems to ensure that these types of assaults result in trial and punishment for the offenders. Currently, the vast majority of these cases end up in no action by police or dismissal by the courts.