Apple’s emergency satellite feature debuted in the US and Canada last month. It enables iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro owners in those countries to send a message to emergency services when out of Wi-Fi and cellular range. Now, Apple has expanded the feature to a small selection of countries in Europe. The iPhone 14 series users in France, Germany, Ireland and the UK can now issue an Emergency SOS via satellite. The feature should kick in automatically when you try and fail to contact emergency services in the above countries using traditional connection methods. Your iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro will then encourage you to “Report Emergency”, followed by a series of questions to establish the nature of your emergency. After instructing you to point your iPhone directly at a satellite, these answers, along with your Medical ID and your precise location, will then be beamed to Apple‑trained specialists, who can call for help on your behalf. It’s also possible to have the information relayed to your emergency contact. In addition, you can now share your location with loved ones on the Find My app via satellite. Apple estimates that sending messages in this way can take as little as 15secs in clear conditions. That’s pretty snappy, considering your iPhone is bouncing a signal off a fast-moving satellite orbiting a thousand kilometres above Earth. If you want to test out this feature, Apple has integrated a demo that lets you connect your iPhone 14 to a satellite without alerting your local emergency services.
