Apple iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature Saves Stranded Man in Alaska | Hacker News Reader

Apple iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature Saves Stranded Man in Alaska

macrumors.com

26 pointstosh9 comments

We have a problem in my country (pre-COVID) of tourists getting stuck in mountains and needing to be rescued. I am worried this tech is going to be like ABS brakes, a life saver for sure but one that makes people take greater risks, especially when it is being shown to work outside its specified range.

I'm also concerned with how this feature will be made available in countries and not in mountains ranges. Like 'France'

I'm near the Alps, and enforcing a strict geofencing wouldn't make sense in here.

Will the iphone just check your GPS position to enable this functionality or not ? Or will it use the country of your SIM ?

Areas with poor coverage in 'France' are mostly mountains. And mountains are (unenforced and hardly marked) border regions. On some hikes in the Alps, you're technically walking in and out of France and Italy. Mt Blanc is a conflicted border between both, and Mt Chenaillet, a popular destination for rock fans, is nearly on the border, for example. And as the border doesn't exist, you can also just technically spend a day in any other country without any preparation !

The same can be seen in the mountains between France and Spain. And nearly any mountainous area in the world, I believe.

So I'm just worry that this service will be 'available in France', but won't work when you are on the 5m of the track that are ackchyually in Italy according to legal maps, even if French rescue would be allowed to come to you if you call them.

It will feel weird and confusing when this functionality will be reliable only on some mountains, or even mountain sides, but not others, despite the fact they're in the same range.

While we're at it, let's get rid of ABS brakes, seatbelts, helmets, gloves, shoes, glasses, and anything else that might possibly help or protect people.

If your helmet only worked between certain latitudes, and not in my country, I would be similarly concerned if you came to visit me with your helmet. I hope Apple will alert users when they move out of coverage.

And insurance too!

Source? Where's the proof ABS made drivers take greater risks? Sounds like bullshit.

Do you drive worse on purpose because you have ABS?

Kind of a silly concern, consumer emergency beacons have been available forever, as have sat phones.

In Finland, 62 degrees falls between Tampere and Jyväskylä. So, most of the population if only a fraction of the landmass.

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