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Apple uploaded a new video clip on its YouTube account, highlighting the company’s Crash Detection feature using iPhone 14 Pro. The Cupertino giant notes that it “can sense a severe car crash and automatically call 911.” Interestingly, recent reports say the feature can be easily triggered even through simple drops, causing false alarms to plague first responders everywhere.
The video shows a dummy in a car with the iPhone 14 Pro mounted on the car’s dashboard. The scene opens with the automobile already rolling over due to the crash, triggering the iPhone’s Crash Detection feature.
“It looks like you’ve been in a crash,” the prompt reads. “iPhone will trigger Emergency SOS if you don’t respond.”
Alongside the prompt, the screen of the iPhone will show a slider to invoke the SOS emergency call manually and a Cancel button to prevent the SOS trigger. The whole clip is just a half-minute long, but Apple has managed to underline its message about the practicality of the feature during emergency situations.
Nonetheless, despite Apple’s great intention for the creation of Crash Detection, the feature appears as a nightmare for some first responders. The reports of false alarms caused by the feature started as soon as it launched in September 2022, and they continue to this day. Just last month, Dickson County first responders expressed concern over this issue. According to the team, an average of one to two false alarms a week happen due to the feature. Even more, Crash Detection could reportedly be triggered even when users have just accidentally dropped their iPhones or Apple Watches.
In the same month, another report by local news outlet WKRN said that first responders in Manchester saw a 5x increase in Apple’s Crash Detection false alarms in this year’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The false alarms were reportedly triggered when the festival participants simply danced during the live performances.
Despite the incidents, Apple continues to promote Crash Detection as one of the best features in iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models. The company admits that the feature is still far from perfect, but it stresses that improvements are always being introduced to its crash detection tech, adding it will soon be an “invaluable resource” to emergency responders. It is unknown whether the issue regarding the feature has already been fixed at the time of the posting of the new ad clip, but it is clear that Apple maintains its faith in the feature as a useful tool for its customers in the future.
