The latest iPhone 14 series and Apple Watch Ultra, Series 8, and SE 2 features a new safety feature Crash Detection which not only detects when a user has been in a car accident but also calls emergency service automatically.
At the time of launch, reviewers could not test the Crash Detection feature for obvious reasons. Although they were glad to have the additional safety in their pocket on the road, did not know if it really worked or not.
YouTubers from TechRax have cleared that ambiguity by testing the iPhone 14 Crash Detection feature in a car accident experiment and were glad to find out that it really works.
An experiment in a controlled environment revealed iPhone 14 Crash Detection works but with a few seconds of lag
For the experiment, YouTubers @TechRax tested the Crash Detection feature on iPhone 14 Pro in an open field using an old car. They tapped the phone on the back of the driver’s seat and remotely drove the car into scrapped cars.
It took them several attempts to get a proper head-on collision scenario because the moving car was not driven by a person and it was difficult for them to make it go in the parked car’s direction.
When did manage to get two decent collisions, and both times the iPhone 14 Pro displayed a Crash Detection alert and a loud siren played during the 10-second countdown before the smartphone dialed emergency services automatically.
However, it was found that the Crash Detection feature kicked in after a few seconds of delay. Maybe that was because the accident was not a real-world scenario.
Apple explained that the feature is powered by a new dual-core accelerometer capable of detecting G-force measurements of up to 256Gs and a new high dynamic range gyroscope to detect a severe car crash and automatically dial emergency services when a user is unconscious or unable to reach their iPhone.
These capabilities build on existing components, like the barometer, which can now detect cabin pressure changes, the GPS for additional input for speed changes, and the microphone, which can recognize loud noises typified by severe car crashes. Advanced Apple-designed motion algorithms trained with over a million hours of real-world driving and crash record data provide even better accuracy.
Therefore, the takeaway from this experiment is that iPhone 14 Crash Detection works, and it’s not just a marketing gimmick. Hopefully, no one ever has to use it but we do feel safer on the road.
