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It's weird, while Google struggles to make basic Emergency Services calling to work reliably[1], Apple keeps adding life saving features from detecting falls an

It's weird, while Google struggles to make basic Emergency Services calling to work reliably[1], Apple keeps adding life saving features from detecting falls and car crashes to ability to call Emergency Services via satellite. Just shows you how companies are different in focus, quality control and attention to detail. [1] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32713375 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32713375

eugenekolo 4y ago
You don't even know for certainty that Apple doesn't have the same/similar problems in an unreleased device/OS.... I'm not saying they do have those issues, but how do you know they don't? You can't compare a released product to a marketing ad.
- mirashii 4y ago
  The issues mentioned are existing issues in Android devices today and for a few years that the iPhone has full parity with, so I think even if the new features are dropped the criticism stands.
- HatchedLake721 4y ago
  I'm talking in general, nothing to do with iPhone 14. Apple released fall detection in Apple Watch few years ago, there are already stories of lives it saved. I'm pretty sure if Apple had an outstanding software bug of not being able to call emergency services for over a year now, I'm pretty sure we (HN crowd) would know it by now.
  - eugenekolo 4y ago
    Android does have crash detection. I understand your claim as Apple values safety, whereas Google does not in their feature releases. But, that is not true. It is true that Google products are mostly garbage these days, so don't get me wrong there. Android/Pixel safety features: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7055029?hl=en https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7055029?hl=en
  - fomine3 4y ago
    iPhone had emergency call problem and took 3 months to fix, but not in the US https://atadistance.net/2021/10/29/japanese-government-lists-dual-sim-iphone-models-non-conformity-due-emergency-call-issues/ https://atadistance.net/2021/10/29/japanese-government-lists...
micromacrofoot 4y ago
Google's still struggling with baseline hardware issues.
- least 4y ago
  Google has never shown competency in building hardware. I loved my Nexus 5 phone. It’s still my favorite phone as far as aesthetics goes. It was a great value and much cheaper than comparable phones at the time. It bricked itself with a boot loop issue 2 weeks out of warranty. Google was nice enough to replace it with another one that promptly ended up boot looping as well. I also loved my Nexus 7 tablet. Beautiful device that was so far ahead of its time in terms of looks. It had an issue with absolutely terrible storage that made it so sluggish past its initial release (I believe the issue was the chip itself was degrading and it was a widespread issue). Updating to a higher version of Android made it completely unusable. I’ve not owned any, but I keep hearing about issues of reliability in both software and hardware with Pixel phones as well. My best phone for Android has been the Samsung Galaxy S6. Every iPhone i’ve had has been almost entirely problem-free. At this point, I don’t see any reason to buy Google anything.
  - jdeibele 4y ago
    I completely agree with you. I tried updating my Nexus 5 with CyanogenMod for a while. I was very impressed with how well CyanogenMod worked but eventually I wanted manufacturer support instead of having to put the OS on an SD card and try to boot from it so I could install the OS. And worrying that the one volunteer doing my phone would get tired of updating the OS. The Nexus 7 was a nice form factor for reading web pages because it was long and thin in portrait mode. The combination of hardware issues reported by other people and again lack of supported upgrades led me to eBay it.
  - nunez 4y ago
    Hard agree that the Nexus 5 was Google's best device. It was perfect, and it was cheap.
shard 4y ago
FYI car crash detection had been available since Pixel 5.
- smileybarry 4y ago
  Only in the US and some other countries. Still not available in Israel, even though we “use” the same cars. Doesn’t look like Apple’s feature is country-restricted.
  - shard 4y ago
    Yes, this highlights several points: 1. Different companies have different focus and strategies. I would say Google likes to experiment, but sometimes has poor follow-through. Apple often waits a few generations before committing to new technology, so they often are not innovation leaders, but they execute well. 2. Roll-outs often do not occur all at once. There might be blockers which are not immediately visible, such as regulational, financial, cultural. A regulational example would be how Apple Watch's ECG was not rolled out world-wide at first, and was spread slowly as various countries gave approval for this feature.
    - smileybarry 4y ago
      Apple Watch ECG is a good example: it required actively applying for regulatory approval, and they ended up accomplishing that on non-US/EU territories. Whereas Google just sticks to the same 10-or-so countries for rollout. (I had Nexus/Pixel phones for a decade up until recently)
- mrtksn 4y ago
  It's funny, when I try to search for Pixel 5 crash detection Google tries to autocomplete it to Pixel 5 crash loop. The thing about Apple is, and has been since its inception, that makes devices that actually work in a way people can benefit from it instead of ticking items on checklists. Mind you, Apple makes bluetooth earphones that reached business since larger than some of the most sexy and famous businesses out there. These bluetooth earphones have just one feature that is outstanding: They work as expected, most of the time.
lozenge 4y ago
Apple tells carriers what to do, carriers tell Google what to do.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- jiggawatts 4y ago
  I can attest to this. I worked at two different large telcos and they both had "calendars" that revolved around iPhone and Samsung phone releases. They had massive multi-month-long change freezes before and after each September iPhone announcement and release! I was told that this was mandated by Apple, and that they had virtually no choice in the matter.
jollybean 4y ago
Are they life saving features or do they just appear to be such? I'm wary of the actual math on these things. I think it's an honest attempt either way, but aside from a few anecdotes of 'it working as intended' I really do wonder if the math works out on this stuff i.e. cost/benefit is really there. Without seeming too apathetic, if 2 or 3 people are able to make life saving calls due to this every year because they were 'out in the wilderness' ... then it may not be worth a massive global technical deployment. It might be more rational for people to buy/rent proper off-trail gear, or, for cars to have these things built in or something along those lines - where the cost efficiencies are much greater.

eugenekolo 4y ago

You don't even know for certainty that Apple doesn't have the same/similar problems in an unreleased device/OS.... I'm not saying they do have those issues, but how do you know they don't? You can't compare a released product to a marketing ad.

mirashii 4y ago
The issues mentioned are existing issues in Android devices today and for a few years that the iPhone has full parity with, so I think even if the new features are dropped the criticism stands.
HatchedLake721 4y ago
I'm talking in general, nothing to do with iPhone 14. Apple released fall detection in Apple Watch few years ago, there are already stories of lives it saved. I'm pretty sure if Apple had an outstanding software bug of not being able to call emergency services for over a year now, I'm pretty sure we (HN crowd) would know it by now.
- eugenekolo 4y ago
  Android does have crash detection. I understand your claim as Apple values safety, whereas Google does not in their feature releases. But, that is not true. It is true that Google products are mostly garbage these days, so don't get me wrong there. Android/Pixel safety features: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7055029?hl=en https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7055029?hl=en
- fomine3 4y ago
  iPhone had emergency call problem and took 3 months to fix, but not in the US https://atadistance.net/2021/10/29/japanese-government-lists-dual-sim-iphone-models-non-conformity-due-emergency-call-issues/ https://atadistance.net/2021/10/29/japanese-government-lists...

micromacrofoot 4y ago

Google's still struggling with baseline hardware issues.

least 4y ago
Google has never shown competency in building hardware. I loved my Nexus 5 phone. It’s still my favorite phone as far as aesthetics goes. It was a great value and much cheaper than comparable phones at the time. It bricked itself with a boot loop issue 2 weeks out of warranty. Google was nice enough to replace it with another one that promptly ended up boot looping as well. I also loved my Nexus 7 tablet. Beautiful device that was so far ahead of its time in terms of looks. It had an issue with absolutely terrible storage that made it so sluggish past its initial release (I believe the issue was the chip itself was degrading and it was a widespread issue). Updating to a higher version of Android made it completely unusable. I’ve not owned any, but I keep hearing about issues of reliability in both software and hardware with Pixel phones as well. My best phone for Android has been the Samsung Galaxy S6. Every iPhone i’ve had has been almost entirely problem-free. At this point, I don’t see any reason to buy Google anything.
- jdeibele 4y ago
  I completely agree with you. I tried updating my Nexus 5 with CyanogenMod for a while. I was very impressed with how well CyanogenMod worked but eventually I wanted manufacturer support instead of having to put the OS on an SD card and try to boot from it so I could install the OS. And worrying that the one volunteer doing my phone would get tired of updating the OS. The Nexus 7 was a nice form factor for reading web pages because it was long and thin in portrait mode. The combination of hardware issues reported by other people and again lack of supported upgrades led me to eBay it.
- nunez 4y ago
  Hard agree that the Nexus 5 was Google's best device. It was perfect, and it was cheap.

shard 4y ago

FYI car crash detection had been available since Pixel 5.

smileybarry 4y ago
Only in the US and some other countries. Still not available in Israel, even though we “use” the same cars. Doesn’t look like Apple’s feature is country-restricted.
- shard 4y ago
  Yes, this highlights several points: 1. Different companies have different focus and strategies. I would say Google likes to experiment, but sometimes has poor follow-through. Apple often waits a few generations before committing to new technology, so they often are not innovation leaders, but they execute well. 2. Roll-outs often do not occur all at once. There might be blockers which are not immediately visible, such as regulational, financial, cultural. A regulational example would be how Apple Watch's ECG was not rolled out world-wide at first, and was spread slowly as various countries gave approval for this feature.
  - smileybarry 4y ago
    Apple Watch ECG is a good example: it required actively applying for regulatory approval, and they ended up accomplishing that on non-US/EU territories. Whereas Google just sticks to the same 10-or-so countries for rollout. (I had Nexus/Pixel phones for a decade up until recently)
mrtksn 4y ago
It's funny, when I try to search for Pixel 5 crash detection Google tries to autocomplete it to Pixel 5 crash loop. The thing about Apple is, and has been since its inception, that makes devices that actually work in a way people can benefit from it instead of ticking items on checklists. Mind you, Apple makes bluetooth earphones that reached business since larger than some of the most sexy and famous businesses out there. These bluetooth earphones have just one feature that is outstanding: They work as expected, most of the time.

lozenge 4y ago

Apple tells carriers what to do, carriers tell Google what to do.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
jiggawatts 4y ago
I can attest to this. I worked at two different large telcos and they both had "calendars" that revolved around iPhone and Samsung phone releases. They had massive multi-month-long change freezes before and after each September iPhone announcement and release! I was told that this was mandated by Apple, and that they had virtually no choice in the matter.

jollybean 4y ago

Are they life saving features or do they just appear to be such? I'm wary of the actual math on these things. I think it's an honest attempt either way, but aside from a few anecdotes of 'it working as intended' I really do wonder if the math works out on this stuff i.e. cost/benefit is really there. Without seeming too apathetic, if 2 or 3 people are able to make life saving calls due to this every year because they were 'out in the wilderness' ... then it may not be worth a massive global technical deployment. It might be more rational for people to buy/rent proper off-trail gear, or, for cars to have these things built in or something along those lines - where the cost efficiencies are much greater.