Apple has today announced the free trial of its Emergency SOS via satellite feature for iPhone 14 is being extended for another year.
The ground-breaking safety feature was introduced to the iPhone with iPhone 14 last year and has literally proved life-saving since its advent. Emergency SOS via satellite lets users contact emergency services even when they don't have cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. It requires users to point their device at a satellite overhead and uses message prompts to quickly relay information to emergency services.
When it was released, Apple confirmed the feature would be free for two years, revealing that the company likely has plans to charge for it in the future. Anyone who bought an iPhone 14 since its release received a two-year free trial, and it's that free trial that has today been extended.
"We are so happy iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users can take advantage of this groundbreaking service for two more years for free," Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing said, confirming the feature "has helped save lives around the world."
One more year of satellite safety
Emergency SOS via satellite is also available on Apple's best iPhones, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, building on the feature to add Roadside Assistance via satellite and AAA. Apple confirms in its release that the free trial "will be extended 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," which means that people who buy an iPhone 14 after today look set to miss out.
First brought to the U.S. and Canada, Emergency SOS via satellite is now available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S.
