7 ms·

This idea is totally from left field, but perhaps Apple hopes to show how successful this program is with search and rescue operations to receive government sub

by atyppo 4y ago

This idea is totally from left field, but perhaps Apple hopes to show how successful this program is with search and rescue operations to receive government subsidy? I can’t imagine a company as image-conscious as Apple being okay with the optics of a headline describing a hiker’s death after not paying for Emergency SOS.

nicoburns 4y ago
I'm betting: 1. This feature is relatively expensive for Apple. Satellite communication isn't free, and Apple don't have their own infrastructure for this. 2. They've signed a 2 year contract with whichever provider they're using. 3. They want to see if this feature is even popular before committing to supporting it for longer at all.
- ribosometronome 4y ago
  I imagine this has to be a loss leader/marketing feature, where the hope is very few will use it but those who do will result in "iPhone saves 12 year old Boy Scout lost in the woods!"
  - alwillis 4y ago
    Apple doesn’t really do loss leaders.
    - ktta 4y ago
      Loss leader isn't the proper term in this case. Think of this akin to the health-scare clips they've been showing in the past few years when talking about the Apple Watch (like today). The number of Afib/high heart rate detections are miniscule, but serves as great marketing. Good enough for me to order one today.
      - alwillis 4y ago
        According to the CDC, 805,000 people have heart attacks in the US [1]. I suspect it’ll be commonplace for many/most people will have some kind of health monitoring device. [1]: https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
        Turing_Machine 4y ago
        The Apple Watch doesn't currently check for heart attacks, though, and makes a point of telling you that every time you use any of the heart-related functions. It can detect atrial fibrillation, but that's a different thing from a regular heart attack.
    - megablast 4y ago
      Of course they do. There are lot so free apple tv and apple music deals. Included with the iphone.
    - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
      > Apple doesn’t really do loss leaders. Their work on accessibility disproves your assertion.
- alwillis 4y ago
  Money isn’t the issue. But they also don’t want to commit to a price until they have a couple years of experience under their belts. Whatever the terms of the deal is, hitting certain benchmarks is part of it.
guyzero 4y ago
Note that in the US SAR services are not always free and if you have an inReach or similar device you probably also need supplementary SAR insurance. It's cheap, but you still need it.
- NewMountain 4y ago
  Do you have such insurance? Any company you've had good experiences with? I had a close call or two hiking in the Cascades and wasn't aware this was a thing so I'd appreciate any tips.
  - protoc 4y ago
    Its state by state. SAR rescue is free in California as long as its not do to excessive negligence on the party. Prob cost $ in the muh freedom type of states :/
  - tjohns 4y ago
    InReach offers it as a optional paid add-on ($30) when you sign up for an account. While not always true internationally, at least in the US most jurisdictions won't charge for rescue as long unless you weren't careless and reckless. Even where state law allows for recovering rescue costs, it's a high bar before they'll actually send out a bill... they normally don't want to discourage people from calling from help until it's too late, if it's truly needed. (Keep in mind that rescue in the wilderness can easily take 12-48 hours.) That said, laws allowing the state to recoup rescue costs are becoming more common as satellite messengers have become more prevalent, leading to more non-emergency nuisance calls. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/us/rescue-hikers-cost.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/us/rescue-hikers-cost.htm...
  - timothyb89 4y ago
    GEOS (a Garmin subsidiary) offers this for most devices on the Iridium network, including Zoleo and Garmin's own inReach communicators: https://my-geos.com/products https://my-geos.com/products I have a Zoleo device and pay for the $40/yr coverage. You just register your device's IMEI with them.
  - 4y ago
alwillis 4y ago
I suspect two years from now, the SOS feature will either be free or rolled into a service bundle like Apple One or News+. By then, there could other satellite-based services that would be subscription-based. Apple certainly doesn’t need a subsidy; if anything, they may end up subsidizing future satellite launches with the $200 billion—-give or take—-they’re sitting on.
- atyppo 4y ago
  Sure but so do plenty of other companies/industries that happily take subsidies

by atyppo 4y ago

nicoburns 4y ago

I'm betting: 1. This feature is relatively expensive for Apple. Satellite communication isn't free, and Apple don't have their own infrastructure for this. 2. They've signed a 2 year contract with whichever provider they're using. 3. They want to see if this feature is even popular before committing to supporting it for longer at all.

ribosometronome 4y ago
I imagine this has to be a loss leader/marketing feature, where the hope is very few will use it but those who do will result in "iPhone saves 12 year old Boy Scout lost in the woods!"
- alwillis 4y ago
  Apple doesn’t really do loss leaders.
  - ktta 4y ago
    Loss leader isn't the proper term in this case. Think of this akin to the health-scare clips they've been showing in the past few years when talking about the Apple Watch (like today). The number of Afib/high heart rate detections are miniscule, but serves as great marketing. Good enough for me to order one today.
    - alwillis 4y ago
      According to the CDC, 805,000 people have heart attacks in the US [1]. I suspect it’ll be commonplace for many/most people will have some kind of health monitoring device. [1]: https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
      - Turing_Machine 4y ago
        The Apple Watch doesn't currently check for heart attacks, though, and makes a point of telling you that every time you use any of the heart-related functions. It can detect atrial fibrillation, but that's a different thing from a regular heart attack.
  - megablast 4y ago
    Of course they do. There are lot so free apple tv and apple music deals. Included with the iphone.
  - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
    > Apple doesn’t really do loss leaders. Their work on accessibility disproves your assertion.
alwillis 4y ago
Money isn’t the issue. But they also don’t want to commit to a price until they have a couple years of experience under their belts. Whatever the terms of the deal is, hitting certain benchmarks is part of it.

guyzero 4y ago

Note that in the US SAR services are not always free and if you have an inReach or similar device you probably also need supplementary SAR insurance. It's cheap, but you still need it.

NewMountain 4y ago
Do you have such insurance? Any company you've had good experiences with? I had a close call or two hiking in the Cascades and wasn't aware this was a thing so I'd appreciate any tips.
- protoc 4y ago
  Its state by state. SAR rescue is free in California as long as its not do to excessive negligence on the party. Prob cost $ in the muh freedom type of states :/
- tjohns 4y ago
  InReach offers it as a optional paid add-on ($30) when you sign up for an account. While not always true internationally, at least in the US most jurisdictions won't charge for rescue as long unless you weren't careless and reckless. Even where state law allows for recovering rescue costs, it's a high bar before they'll actually send out a bill... they normally don't want to discourage people from calling from help until it's too late, if it's truly needed. (Keep in mind that rescue in the wilderness can easily take 12-48 hours.) That said, laws allowing the state to recoup rescue costs are becoming more common as satellite messengers have become more prevalent, leading to more non-emergency nuisance calls. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/us/rescue-hikers-cost.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/us/rescue-hikers-cost.htm...
- timothyb89 4y ago
  GEOS (a Garmin subsidiary) offers this for most devices on the Iridium network, including Zoleo and Garmin's own inReach communicators: https://my-geos.com/products https://my-geos.com/products I have a Zoleo device and pay for the $40/yr coverage. You just register your device's IMEI with them.
- 4y ago

alwillis 4y ago

I suspect two years from now, the SOS feature will either be free or rolled into a service bundle like Apple One or News+. By then, there could other satellite-based services that would be subscription-based. Apple certainly doesn’t need a subsidy; if anything, they may end up subsidizing future satellite launches with the $200 billion—-give or take—-they’re sitting on.

atyppo 4y ago
Sure but so do plenty of other companies/industries that happily take subsidies