A trio of Brigham Young University students were recently left stranded in an Emery County, Ohio, canyon. What started as a pleasant hike took a nightmarish turn when the students became unable to escape a particularly deep slot, according to a local 2KUTV report.
Thankfully, one of the students had an iPhone 14 on them, fully equipped with Emergency SOS via Satellite functionality. With the help of the technology, the three students were able to alert authorities of their location and survive to tell the tale.
Apple unveiled Emergency SOS via Satellite during its iPhone 14 keynote last year. Available in a limited selection of countries, including Canada, the feature allows for emergency communication using satellites up in space.
Users are prompted to answer simple questions while the phone searches for a satellite connection it can work with. The bandwidth is limited, and so only texts can currently be sent using the technology.
Since launching on the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro series, the SOS via Satellite feature has reportedly saved a number of lives. This includes the lives of some Canadians as recently as this winter.
While Emergency SOS is one of those features nobody hopes to ever have to use, it certainly provides some peace of mind in the event that cellular reception and Wi-Fi are both unavailable.
Reports indicate that upcoming Android phones powered by Qualcomm chips might be next in line to get similar, potentially life-saving technology.
