Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Archived Post

Apple sued over the Emergency SOS feature in its watchOS

Another day, yet another lawsuit. A company called Zoom is suing Apple for the Emergency SOS feature introduced in watchOS 3. 

As noted by Patently Apple, Zomm says that it developed and patented the SOS feature to make calling local emergency services as easy as holding down a remote device’s button, but after getting “close enough to Zomm to steal the company’s technology,” Apple used it in the Apple Watch without a license.



With the Emergency SOS feature on an Apple Watch, you can call for help and alert your emergency contacts. When you make a call with SOS, the smartwatch automatically calls the local emergency number. In some countries and regions, you might need to choose the service that you need. 

You can also add emergency contacts. After an emergency call ends, your Apple Watch alerts your emergency contacts with a text message, unless you choose to cancel. Your smartwatch sends them your current location, and, for a period of time after you enter SOS mode, it sends your emergency contacts updates when your location changes. 

 

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.