The emergency SOS function via satellite of the iPhone 14. Apple
Apples iPhone 14 go into space. Well, not literally, but it’s the first iPhone to be able to connect not only to terrestrial cellular and Wi-Fi, but also to satellites above the Earth. For now, this service is limited to emergencies and is called Emergency SOS via Satellite. The service was announced Wednesday at Apple’s Far Out event.
In order to prove this feature, Apple had to overcome a number of huge technical hurdles.
The first is the challenge of how to connect an iPhone to a satellite in the first place. Satellites orbit the earth high and fast, and the iPhone doesn’t have the huge, bulky antenna normally found on a satellite phone. Instead, Apple designed the antenna built into the iPhone case to be able to send and receive data directly to an orbiting satellite.
But due to the antenna’s limited size, the user must point the iPhone 14 directly at the satellite and keep it pointed while messages are sent and received.
It sounds complicated, but there is an app for it!
Also: New iPhone models compared: which one to buy?
Yes, Apple has designed an app that shows users where to point the iPhone so they can get a satellite connection, keep it pointed in that direction, and streamline the process of communicating the details of an emergency.
To send a message, users may need to keep iPhone pointed at the satellite for about 15 seconds when the sky is clear, and for a few minutes if there are trees or terrain obscuring the view.