Apple Watch saves man's life after hard fall from an electric bike

Posted:
in Apple Watch
The Apple Watch is credited with saving another life after alerting authorities when a man fell from his electric bike and sustained a head injury.




At 1:30 am on January 22, the Hermosa Beach Police received an automatic emergency call stating that an Apple Watch owner had taken a hard fall. It then relayed his location information, directing emergency services to the scene.

When officers arrived, they found a man lying in the street next to his electric bike, bleeding profusely from the head, according to Fox LA.

The man was treated on-scene by the officers then transported to a local hospital for additional medical treatment. He was ultimately released several days later.

According to the report, social media reports were claiming that the fall was an attack or a crime of some sort. The local police say that it was a solo accident.

On Monday, it was reported that emergency services saved an unconscious man in Morrow, Georgia, after his Apple Watch detected a fall and alerted local authorities.

The Apple Watch isn't the only one of Apple's products being credited with saving lives, either. A New Jersey floral designer was able to use her AirPods to call 911 after sustaining a head injury in her studio.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    Interesting that the headline specifically says an electric bike as opposed to just bike.
  • Reply 2 of 13
    Why so many “Apple Watch saves life…” articles recently?

    It’s great that this and other mobile devices can save lives and auto dial emergency services but honestly it is far from unusual in 2022.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    Why so many “Apple Watch saves life…” articles recently?

    It’s great that this and other mobile devices can save lives and auto dial emergency services but honestly it is far from unusual in 2022.
    I don't mind them. I mean if there was more than one a day, that may be excessive, but I kind of like hearing these stories.
    StrangeDaysronnmacgui
  • Reply 4 of 13
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,008member
    Why so many “Apple Watch saves life…” articles recently?

    It’s great that this and other mobile devices can save lives and auto dial emergency services but honestly it is far from unusual in 2022.
    I had the feature turned off because I worried that I might set off a false alarm on a jump and not notice while biking. Stories like these nudged me to read up on the feature and now I have it turned on—who knows? Maybe these stories will save lives themselves by prompting others to enable it!
    ronn
  • Reply 5 of 13
    I have fall detection turned on while exercising. I  had a massive endo on my mountain bike. I was pretty knocked around and the watch was preparing to dial 911 , I can really see the value now.
    ronn
  • Reply 6 of 13
    XedXed Posts: 2,890member
    bageljoey said:
    Why so many “Apple Watch saves life…” articles recently?

    It’s great that this and other mobile devices can save lives and auto dial emergency services but honestly it is far from unusual in 2022.
    I had the feature turned off because I worried that I might set off a false alarm on a jump and not notice while biking. Stories like these nudged me to read up on the feature and now I have it turned on—who knows? Maybe these stories will save lives themselves by prompting others to enable it!
    I am not of retirement age and I'm very active. I've never had it falsely assume I had fallen. I've heard that others have, but maybe I'm more gracious in my klutziness. :wink: 
  • Reply 7 of 13
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Why so many “Apple Watch saves life…” articles recently?

    It’s great that this and other mobile devices can save lives and auto dial emergency services but honestly it is far from unusual in 2022.

    I think these things need much more publicity.   Few seem to understand how these watches can save lives and / or save people from a horrible future.
    dewme
  • Reply 8 of 13
    neutrino23neutrino23 Posts: 1,563member
    I’m pretty sure that this works with any Apple Watch paired to an iPhone, but can someone point to an article that says this is true or does it only work with the cellular versionn of the Apple Watch?
  • Reply 9 of 13
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    I’m pretty sure that this works with any Apple Watch paired to an iPhone, but can someone point to an article that says this is true or does it only work with the cellular versionn of the Apple Watch?

    I think Fall Detection was first on the Series 4.   And LTE was first on the Series 3 -- although it remains an option on every Apple Watch since.

    LTE is not required for Fall Detection.   But, if you don't have LTE (and have it activated by your carrier) but you want it to dial 911 after a fall, your phone will need to be "nearby" (I think that means within bluetooth range -- about 30 feet).
  • Reply 10 of 13
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,472member
    I’m pretty sure that this works with any Apple Watch paired to an iPhone,
    No, it doesn't.

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208944

    This article doesn't make it clear that a cellular Watch  or a qualifying Watch paired to a nearby qualifying iPhone is required.

    But this one does:

    To use Emergency SOS on an Apple Watch that doesn't have cellular, your iPhone needs to be nearby. If your iPhone isn't nearby, your Apple Watch needs to be connected to a known Wi-Fi network and you must set up Wi-Fi Calling.

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206983
    muthuk_vanalingamdewme
  • Reply 11 of 13
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,472member
    Why so many “Apple Watch saves life…” articles recently?

    It’s great that this and other mobile devices can save lives and auto dial emergency services but honestly it is far from unusual in 2022.

    I think these things need much more publicity.   Few seem to understand how these watches can save lives and / or save people from a horrible future.
    I haven't seen a significant number of these "saves", nowhere approaching "so many". Anytime I talk about my Watch with someone unfamiliar with it, there's always somebody with the throwaway comment "It's just a gimmick". So I also think this feature needs more publicity.

           iOS_Guy80 said:
           Interesting that the headline specifically says an electric bike as opposed to just            bike.

    I was curious about that as well. Maybe AI mentioned it because of the social media rumors about it being some sort of attack. Most people might thing falling off of a bicycle wouldn't result in a similar injury and dismiss the article entirely. I don't know that there's any actual significance in its mention, but I think it benign at worst.
    dewme
  • Reply 12 of 13
    A cellular watch can dial emergency numbers without needing an active contract. That’s one reason I splashed the extra cash, but didn’t buy a contract for it.

    Edit: From https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/watch/apd4ea933124/watchos
    In some countries and regions, international emergency calling works even if you haven’t set up cellular service on the watch. See the watchOS Feature Availability website to learn which countries and regions are supported.
    edited February 2022 ronn
  • Reply 13 of 13
    XedXed Posts: 2,890member
    A cellular watch can dial emergency numbers without needing an active contract. That’s one reason I splashed the extra cash, but didn’t buy a contract for it.

    Edit: From https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/watch/apd4ea933124/watchos
    In some countries and regions, international emergency calling works even if you haven’t set up cellular service on the watch. See the watchOS Feature Availability website to learn which countries and regions are supported.
    Nice list. 118 counties isn't too shabby.

    edited February 2022
Sign In or Register to comment.