Maybe it can learn something from the Pixels
One of the great things about living in 2022 is all the life-saving technology we have on our wrists or in our pockets. If you wear an Apple Watch, a Galaxy Watch, or, soon enough, a Pixel Watch, your device is able to tell when you’ve fallen and call for help when you aren’t able to. Android and Apple devices can also detect when you’ve been involved in a car crash as well. That said, a number of Apple Watch and iPhone owners have found that their crash detection feature may be a little too eager to call 911.
A dispatch center in Warren County, Ohio, has shared six calls with The Wall Street Journal that came from iPhones whose owners were not involved in a car crash, but were on rides at the Kings Island, the local amusement park. Errant reports have also come from park goers at Six Flags Great America near Chicago.
When an iPhone 14 series device, an Apple Watch Series 8, 2nd-gen Apple Watch SE, or an Apple Watch Ultra detects a crash based on sensor and location data, the device will initiate Emergency SOS mode and, if unaddressed in 10 seconds, will make a call to 911. Dispatchers will hear an automated message saying that the owner of the device was “in a severe car crash” and is unable to respond. Ambient sound from around the device fades in as the message repeats and location data is sent. Other measures may take place depending on how the user has set up Emergency SOS, including sending a text to an emergency contact.
Various anecdotes are being shared around detailing different mechanical misunderstandings from people on thrill rides to a loosely-strapped iPhone 14 Pro Max flying away from a motorcyclist. While the number of false positives this buggy feature generates may be relatively small, any one of them can tie up first responders and resources from another potential emergency that actually needs a response.
An Apple spokesperson defended the technology to the Journal, saying that it will improve over time and that the feature provides peace of mind.
Google’s Android smartphones from the Pixel 3 series onward with Android 13 or later interpret ambient sound in addition to analyzing sensor and location data to make the determination on whether a crash has happened. The company does have an advantage with its deep experience in machine analysis of sound through Google Assistant and other ambient features.
Both Apple and Google’s methods do generate valid crash reports, but as we’re hearing more growing pains coming from one camp than the other, it’d be fair to think that Apple could do better here.
Thanks: Armando
