New Apple products can call for help if their owner was driving a car and got into an accident.
Apple unveiled the new iPhone 14 as well as the Apple Watch with the latest A16 Bionic chip, iOS 16 and watchOS 9. And for drivers, they have a serious feature that could help save lives.
The latest versions of the iPhone and Watch are now equipped with the function of detecting traffic accidents. This means that if the devices detect that the user has been involved in a serious car accident, they will automatically report the coordinates of the event to emergency services if the user does not respond to an on-screen prompt within 10 seconds.
The new security feature is available on all iPhone 14 models (iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max), as well as on the new Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE and all other models.
The traffic accident notification system works using three device capabilities. The barometer detects changes in cabin pressure, while GPS adds data on changes in speed. On the other hand, the microphone can pick up loud sounds typical of car accidents.
Also, a more powerful gyroscope and accelerometer are involved in the process of detecting an accident on the Apple Watch.
To create an algorithm for determining road accidents, data was collected from motion sensors in crash test laboratories with passenger cars. Simulated real-life accidents were taken into account, including frontal collision, rear collision, side collision and rollover.
In addition, Apple said, ‘advanced driving algorithms learned from more than a million hours of real-world driving and crash data.’
If the watch and the phone are used by the car owner at the same time, the emergency notification will appear on the watch and the call will be made through the phone.
The new Apple iPhone 14 line, as well as Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE, will be available for purchase from September 16.
