iPhone 14 users will get another year of Emergency SOS via Satellite for free

AppleInsider

Apple has announced that iPhone 14 owners will have free use of its Emergency SOS via Satellite feature for an extra year.

Apple's Emergency SOS feature on iPhones

Emergency SOS via Satellite was announced at WWDC 2022, and officially launched on November 15. At the time, Apple committed to two years of free use for people who bought the iPhone 14, and then made the same offer for iPhone 15 buyers.

Now on the anniversary of that launch, Apple has announced that existing iPhone 14 users will get an extra year free. It's specifically called a free trial, and the extension is for iPhone 14 users who "have activated their device in a country that supports Emergency SOS via Satellite prior to 12 a.m. PT on November 15, 2023."

"Emergency SOS via satellite has helped save lives around the world," Kaiann Drance, Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing said. "From a man who was rescued after his car plummeted over a 400-foot cliff in Los Angeles, to lost hikers found in the Apennine Mountains in Italy, we continue to hear stories of our customers being able to connect with emergency responders when they otherwise wouldn't have been able to."

This additional free year comes on top of the originally-promised two years. At most, iPhone 14 user will have had a year free so far, which is why Drance continued by saying "We are so happy iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users can take advantage of this groundbreaking service for two more years for free."

Drance's comment specifically includes the iPhone 15, but the extension is only for the iPhone 14. Users of the iPhone 15 will at most be a couple of months into the first of their two-year free period.

At no point has Apple given any indication of what it will charge for the service after the free period ends.

In the year since its launch in the US and Canada, the service has seen a steady rollout to more countries. Around the world, then, the service has seen countless lives saved. From tourists lost in mountains, to stranded hikers, and car crashes.

Apple has also subsequently built on its emergency SOS service with what it calls Roadside Assistance via Satellite. Only available in the US so far, it connects stranded AAA members to help even if cellular connectivity is not available.

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coolfactor

While extremely expensive to set up, I think a service like this should always be free to access. Maybe the governments should be funding it along with 9-1-1 and the like.

mikethemartian

So if your service expires I assume that they would still put your emergency call through and then just charge you a fee afterwards.

riverko

For us who live outside of the eligible area. Is it free just to use the ‘text service’, or also the act of rescue itself. So what is it exactly people should later pay for - to have the tool that enables me to call for help? Or the rescue process as such?

williamh

coolfactor said:

While extremely expensive to set up, I think a service like this should always be free to access. Maybe the governments should be funding it along with 9-1-1 and the like.

Perhaps the emergency call is something that could be charged to and paid by one's health insurance / medicare / medicaid /NHS much like an ambulance?  I think this would be better than having users sign up. 

I'd expect most people would balk at a monthly fee no matter how reasonable and you just can't predict needing this service.

JinTech

coolfactor said:

While extremely expensive to set up, I think a service like this should always be free to access. Maybe the governments should be funding it along with 9-1-1 and the like.

Here’s what’s wrong with people’s thought process on services. 

While yes, I agree with you in that it should be government funded, and that it was externally expensive to set up but it is also very expensive to maintain. 

Services take infrastructure, systems, and teams of people. These things cost Apple millions of dollars a year to operate. 

The buck doesn’t stop when Apple releases said services. 

nubus

coolfactor said:

While extremely expensive to set up, I think a service like this should always be free to access. Maybe the governments should be funding it along with 9-1-1 and the like.

Governments have plenty of other tasks that require funding. Probably the cost of providing the service for 2 or 10 years is not that different per device... Apple still need all the infrastructure and they probably get very few calls from phones after 2 years. Timing is weird as it has no impact right now, and why only offer this for those that activated before Christmas? To me it smells like a PR stunt after the M3 memory pricing issue.

Apple should do the right thing on memory and offer gift cards to those that paid extra for memory. Apple did so when the price dropped on the original iPhone.

tht

I'm guessing Apple is waiting on the GlobalStar constellation replenishment of old satellites and expansion with new satellites before announcing two-way text services. They need a way to subsidize the cost of emergency services. So paid tiers for two-way text messaging, rich messaging, and voice is surely coming. 

GlobalStar revenue is on order 800m per year. They'll need 8m subscribers at $100 per year, or hereabout. Apple will have to get non-adventurers to subscribe. Like, people who are on the road a lot, who experience poor cell service, etc.

Xed

nubus said:

coolfactor said:

While extremely expensive to set up, I think a service like this should always be free to access. Maybe the governments should be funding it along with 9-1-1 and the like.

Governments have plenty of other tasks that require funding. Probably the cost of providing the service for 2 or 10 years is not that different per device... Apple still need all the infrastructure and they probably get very few calls from phones after 2 years. Timing is weird as it has no impact right now, and why only offer this for those that activated before Christmas? To me it smells like a PR stunt after the M3 memory pricing issue.

Apple should do the right thing on memory and offer gift cards to those that paid extra for memory. Apple did so when the price dropped on the original iPhone.

That is a very weird leap to make, especially when this is the anniversary of its launch.

Xed

riverko said:

For us who live outside of the eligible area. Is it free just to use the ‘text service’, or also the act of rescue itself. So what is it exactly people should later pay for - to have the tool that enables me to call for help? Or the rescue process as such?

That depends on what you mean by "live outside of eligible area." There are 16 countries and regions that support Emergency SOS via satellite.

Apple says, "International travelers who visit a country or region where Emergency SOS via satellite is available can use the feature while visiting, except if they bought their iPhone in certain countries or regions."

In other words, if you bought your iPhone 14 or newer from a country that supports the feature it may work in a country that doesn't currently offer the feature on the iPhone.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213426

caladanian

Apple should use this free offer as a commercial and earn money elsewhere (hardware and already established services). At least as long they have no competition…and meanwhile roll out support in further countries.

s.metcalf

It'll be a very bad look for Apple when the first person dies after they had a capable phone but weren't subscribed to the service.  For this reason I don't think Apple could ever require payment for the feature when they're such a massively rich and profitable company, charging huge amounts for these latest devices and pay very little to no tax in most jurisdictions.  I don't think they can morally end the service, which fortunately most people will probably never have to use.

Xed

s.metcalf said:

It'll be a very bad look for Apple when the first person dies after they had a capable phone but weren't subscribed to the service.  For this reason I don't think Apple could ever require payment for the feature when they're such a massively rich and profitable company, charging huge amounts for these latest devices and pay very little to no tax in most jurisdictions.  I don't think they can morally end the service, which fortunately most people will probably never have to use.

So a previously unavailable feature is now Apple's responsibility even after 3 years of offering the service for free? This reminds me of how stalking was all of a sudden Apple's fault if an AirTag was used even though Tile and other small trackers had existed for over a decade with no anti-stalking features in place to help people.

kkqd1337

Xed said:

s.metcalf said:

It'll be a very bad look for Apple when the first person dies after they had a capable phone but weren't subscribed to the service.  For this reason I don't think Apple could ever require payment for the feature when they're such a massively rich and profitable company, charging huge amounts for these latest devices and pay very little to no tax in most jurisdictions.  I don't think they can morally end the service, which fortunately most people will probably never have to use.

So a previously unavailable feature is now Apple's responsibility even after 3 years of offering the service for free? This reminds me of how stalking was all of a sudden Apple's fault if an AirTag was used even though Tile and other small trackers had existed for over a decade with no anti-stalking features in place to help people.

Yes It does leave a responsibility on Apple.

What if BMW disabled your airbags if you didn’t subscribe?

Xed

kkqd1337 said:

Xed said:

s.metcalf said:

It'll be a very bad look for Apple when the first person dies after they had a capable phone but weren't subscribed to the service.  For this reason I don't think Apple could ever require payment for the feature when they're such a massively rich and profitable company, charging huge amounts for these latest devices and pay very little to no tax in most jurisdictions.  I don't think they can morally end the service, which fortunately most people will probably never have to use.

So a previously unavailable feature is now Apple's responsibility even after 3 years of offering the service for free? This reminds me of how stalking was all of a sudden Apple's fault if an AirTag was used even though Tile and other small trackers had existed for over a decade with no anti-stalking features in place to help people.

Yes It does leave a responsibility on Apple.

What if BMW disabled your airbags if you didn’t subscribe?

Airbags are a legal requirement. If it becomes a legal requirement then Apple would be liable if they actively choose not to support that service.

A more apropos comparison would be to sue GM because your free trial of OnStar lapsed and you choose not to purchase a continued subscription because you didn't think it was worth it until after you needed it.

https://www.onstar.com/

JinTech

I could absolutely see Apple going one of two ways with this:

1. Apple bakes it into an existing service
or
2. Bake it into your existing phone plan and be charged on a case by case basis on your existing monthly statement

Charging a monthly service for a “just-in-case” or “emergency” service would result in a very low subscription rate and it would be a flop for Apple. 

dewme

coolfactor said:

While extremely expensive to set up, I think a service like this should always be free to access. Maybe the governments should be funding it along with 9-1-1 and the like.

I understand the sentiment but until this service is universally available on ALL brand devices I think there would be enormous backlash if the government was effectively subsidizing a feature that is exclusive to Apple devices. If this service was ubiquitous like 911 is then I would see no impediments to the government investing in technology that clearly has significant public value.

As nice as Apple’s current implementation is it’s still far from mature. I think there is a lot more upside potential that hasn’t been tapped into yet. At this point in its lifecycle I think it would be far more valuable and in the public interest if Apple opened the technology up to participation by other vendors and service providers as well as user groups who have a stake in the services provided. For example, the Coast Guard (and recreational boaters) would clearly benefit from this capability to help with search & rescue operations. Adding an existing government funded organization to the list of direct beneficiaries would help to  move this towards wider public support. 

Xed

dewme said:

coolfactor said:

While extremely expensive to set up, I think a service like this should always be free to access. Maybe the governments should be funding it along with 9-1-1 and the like.

I understand the sentiment but until this service is universally available on ALL brand devices I think there would be enormous backlash if the government was effectively subsidizing a feature that is exclusive to Apple devices. If this service was ubiquitous like 911 is then I would see no impediments to the government investing in technology that clearly has significant public value.

As nice as Apple’s current implementation is it’s still far from mature. I think there is a lot more upside potential that hasn’t been tapped into yet. At this point in its lifecycle I think it would be far more valuable and in the public interest if Apple opened the technology up to participation by other vendors and service providers as well as user groups who have a stake in the services provided. For example, the Coast Guard (and recreational boaters) would clearly benefit from this capability to help with search & rescue operations. Adding an existing government funded organization to the list of direct beneficiaries would help to  move this towards wider public support. 

I feel that his implication was that it would be available to all vendors that wished to connect to this service.

dewme

Xed said:

dewme said:

coolfactor said:

While extremely expensive to set up, I think a service like this should always be free to access. Maybe the governments should be funding it along with 9-1-1 and the like.

I understand the sentiment but until this service is universally available on ALL brand devices I think there would be enormous backlash if the government was effectively subsidizing a feature that is exclusive to Apple devices. If this service was ubiquitous like 911 is then I would see no impediments to the government investing in technology that clearly has significant public value.

As nice as Apple’s current implementation is it’s still far from mature. I think there is a lot more upside potential that hasn’t been tapped into yet. At this point in its lifecycle I think it would be far more valuable and in the public interest if Apple opened the technology up to participation by other vendors and service providers as well as user groups who have a stake in the services provided. For example, the Coast Guard (and recreational boaters) would clearly benefit from this capability to help with search & rescue operations. Adding an existing government funded organization to the list of direct beneficiaries would help to  move this towards wider public support. 

I feel that his implication was that it would be available to all vendors that wished to connect to this service.

Okay, I can see that angle too. But then does it come down to the government funding development and operating costs of the service for other companies to catch up with Apple, who has already spent a lot of its own money bringing what they currently have online?

My main point is that everything that Apple has already spent could be wrapped up into an open standard to build on, since it has proven itself in practice under real world conditions. No need for everyone to start from scratch. Once it’s an open standard and universally supported, then it should be considered as something to be funded through public means. 

s.metcalf

Xed said:

So a previously unavailable feature is now Apple's responsibility even after 3 years of offering the service for free? This reminds me of how stalking was all of a sudden Apple's fault if an AirTag was used even though Tile and other small trackers had existed for over a decade with no anti-stalking features in place to help people.

It’s called progress.  Things are supposed to advance and get better.  It’s a highly marketable capability that Apple can and has used heavily in promotions and advertising to boost sales.  Also consider the cost of the service wrapped up in the cost of the device.  This is more than reasonable considering Apple’s extraordinary tax-dodging ability.

These are life-and-death situations we’re talking about, not some entertainment service like Apple Music.  Other service providers build the cost of their infrastructure into their products.  Yes ithey require maintenance, but I just think it’s a bad and immoral look for Apple to lock people out of emergency help if they need it.

Put it this way: if you’re out of mobile/cellular coverage and need emergency help, you can hardly go online to subscribe to the service, can you?

Presley

In case you’re wondering who needs the services whether it be Apple or other satellite communication devices. Here’s something to think about. If you travel a lot like I do, I’m a long-haul truck driver. You will find you go through many dead spots in some areas of the country Where there is absolutely no cellular service for in some cases over 100 miles. I have run across people who have been broke down or people who have been involved in accidents uno online with no way to call for help. That’s why I now have my iPhone 14 promax and I still carry my Garmin GPS, in reach unit.