After unveiling the new Emergency SOS via Satellite and Crash Detection features on iPhone 14 lineup, the company recently launched the Emergency SOS via Satellite in U.S. and Canada. The service is designed to connect users to emergency service via satellite who face critical situations in areas with no Wi-Fi and cellular coverage.
Prior to the launch of the Emergency SOS via Satellite, CBS Mornings talked to Apple CEO Tim Cook about the concept, and usability of the service, the company’s direction, its relationship with Twitter, and his future plans.
Tim Cook says it’s really hard to envision life without Apple
Referring to the evolution of its products, from iPhone to Apple Watch and iPad, Tim Cook was asked whether Apple was a tech company or a wellness brand. He said it was a company that wants to enrich people’s lives with its products.
He explained Apple Watch was initially developed from a wellness point of view which later pivoted into a health device with features like ECG because of users’ who shared their health conditions.
“So, we just had kept pulling this string and we keep asking ourselves, how can we help?”
Talking about Emergency SOS via Satellite, Cook said it is a huge advancement for hikers like himself or people in the country who are getting away from cellular towers in the city to have the ability to contact emergency service in an event of an emergency.
From the demo shared with the CBS host @Nate Burleson, we also learned that a satellite icon appears in the iPhone status bar when using the Emergency SOS via Satellite and the feature also shares users’ battery percentage, elevation information, and medical information if it is logged, in addition to their answers to the pre-set questions and location to the emergency services.
Cook assured again that privacy is at the heart of every new feature as the company deeply believes it is a fundamental human right. Users’ data stays on the device and Apple does not “suck” it out to the cloud to make decisions off of it and only minimum data is taken to improve services.
He also briefly confirmed that the company was deliberately hiring as an investment in the long term, its relationship with Twitter under Elon Musk’s leadership has not changed as long as it continues to moderate hate speech and other content on the platform.
More importantly, when asked what was next for him, Tim Cook said he can’t imagine life without Apple.
I look at this company, and it’s a privilege of a lifetime to be here. And I get to work with people, I really love to work with and spend time with them. So there is a lot of joy in my life because of Apple, and it’s really hard to envision life without Apple.
EXCLUSIVE: Apple is launching a new feature today in the U.S. and Canada that allows iPhone 14 users to send emergency texts when there is no cell service or wifi using a satellite.
“We keep asking ourselves, how can we help?” @Tim_Cook tells @nateburleson. pic.twitter.com/dAYZ0a561E
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) November 15, 2022
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