The big iPhone-related news this week was that Apple turned on the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature for all four phones in the iPhone 14 line. If you own one of these phones, you should understand how this system works in case you end up in an emergency. if you don't yet own an iPhone 14, I'm sure that your next iPhone will have these features. I've linked to stories below with more information, but in short, you start by calling 9-1-1. If you don't have a strong enough signal for that call to go through—using either your own carrier or any other carrier's signal—then Apple gives you the option to call Emergency SOS via a Satellite. You answer a series of questions about your emergency and you follow on-screen directions to point your iPhone in the correct direction to see a satellite in the sky. The back-and-forth texts with emergency services are slow, but they work, and you can choose to allow your designated emergency contacts to see the back-and-forth conversation on their own iPhone (although they just watch the texts and cannot participate). I'll share more details in connection with the posts below, along with the other news of note from the past week:
- Apple helped Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal test out the Emergency SOS via a Satellite in a way that didn't actually involve the emergency services folks, and she wrote a great article and prepared an even better video showing how it works.
- iJustine went to Apple's campus in Cupertino to test out the feature as well. Although it looks like she was given the same ability to test as Joanna Stern, her excellent video on YouTube shows off the feature in a different way.
- Apple's press release also contains interesting details on the new service. For example, Apple says that in clear conditions, and with the help of a new text compression algorithm, people can send and receive satellite messages in as little as 15 seconds.
- You can test out the feature yourself if you want. On an iPhone 14, go to Settings -> Emergency SOS -> and then under Emergency SOS Via Satellite tap Try Demo. Apple will turn off your cellular radio (to simulate being in the middle of nowhere) and let you connect to a real satellite to see how the process works. You can also have an emergency conversation via text that looks real but which is just a demonstration and doesn't actually get sent to emergency services.
- Even if you don't need help, you can use this service to share your location with folks even when you are off the grid. As Apple explains in this article, open the Find My app, tap Me at the bottom right, and then just below the words My Location via Satellite, tap Send My Location. You can do this up to once every 15 minutes. That way, if one of your friends who has access to you via Find My opens the Find My app on their device, they will see your last location update via Satellite.
- Victoria Song of The Verge tested and wrote about the new satellite features.
- DC Rainmaker writes about the new satellite features and also notes where they work. Right now, it works in the United States—including Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, but not Guam or American Samoa. It also works in Canada. Starting next month, it will work in France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Germany. Note that iPhone 14 devices purchased in China, Hong Kong, and Macau will not support the satellite SOS feature. He notes that the feature also does not work very well above 62° latitude, and he shows you on a map what that means. For example, you may not get satellite coverage in many parts of Alaska.
- Raymond Wong notes on his Inverse website that iOS 16.2 will provide a new alternative to the always-on display: you can choose to have the screen go completely black, with only the date and time visible.
- Zac Hall of 9to5Mac writes about some new features coming to the Apple Watch. One that I had not yet heard about is Track Detection. If Apple senses that you are at a running track and you are wearing an Apple Watch Ultra, you can tell your watch which lane you are using for more precise metrics.
- Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reviews the Moft Snap Float Folio ($53.99 on Amazon), an iPad case that turns into a stand that raises your iPad to eye level.
- Nick deCourville of The Mac Observer notes that if you go to iCloud.com, it now has a brand-new interface. I like using iCloud.com on my PC in my office because it lets me access some features like my Photos, Notes, and other features that I normally wouldn't be able to access on a PC.
- Earlier this year, I reviewed an app called Weather on the Way, a nice app that helps you to see the weather forecast as you are driving across the country. Michael Potuck notes that the app has been updated with a live radar display that can show on a CarPlay screen, which seems like a great new feature.
- In an article for Macworld, Dan Moren notes that when Apple acquired Primephonic (a classical music streaming service) in 2021, Apple said that it would launch a dedicated classical music app in 2022. But with not many weeks left in the year, it appears that this may slip into 2023.
- If you are considering purchasing Apple's Leather Wallet with Magsafe for the iPhone ($59 on Amazon), Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac suggests that you also consider the $44 Mujjo Leather Magnetic Wallet for iPhone because it is easier to add and remove cards and the device is less likely to slide around on the back of the iPhone. However, it lacks Find My support.
- Speaking of MagSafe, Jason Cross of Macworld explains why he thinks Apple missed an opportunity to do so much more with MagSafe on the iPhone.
- Nelson Aguilar of CNet recommends 22 setting changes to optimize your iPhone.
- Felipe Espósito explains some of the new features in the Files app in iPadOS 16.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors shares some of Apple's plans for broadcasting Major League Soccer next year.
- If you listen to Audible audiobooks, the service announced this week that you can now access your library and stream books directly to an Apple Watch app without having to sync to an iPhone.
- Starting to think about holiday presents? Don't let the #666 episode number scare you away because in the latest episode of the Mac Power Users podcast, California attorney David Sparks and Stephen Hackett recommend holiday gifts that would be perfect for anyone interested in technology.
- Julie Strietelmeier of Gadgeteer describes some interesting multi-tools that incorporate an AirTag.
- Apple announced its Black Friday sale. From November 25 to 28, you will get Apple gift cards when you purchase certain Apple products, such as a $75 gift card with certain AirPods models and a $250 gift card with certain Mac models.
- And finally, did you know that two people can use AirPods (or Beats headphones) to listen to audio from a single iPhone or iPad? To show this, Apple released a fun seasonal video that features a lot of snow. The video is titled Share the Joy: AirPods Pro.
