Fall Detection is a feature that is part of the Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5, and when it is enabled, it can alert emergency services if a user takes a hard fall and remains unresponsive for 60 seconds. Phoenix-area media outlet KTAR reports that a Chandler, Arizona man received emergency care on April 23 when his Apple Watch contacted police dispatchers.
According to KTAR, those dispatchers received a 911 call from an automated voice telling them that an Apple Watch wearer had fallen and wasn’t responding, then provided the man’s exact latitude and longitude. Officers and the Chandler Fire Department arrived on the scene and found that the man had fainted and collapsed.
Dispatgher Adriana Cacciola told KTAR that “He would never have been able to provide us his location or any information on what was going on. He wasn’t even aware that any help was coming until we were already there.”
Fall Detection is enabled by default for Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 owners 65 years of age or older. For younger wearers who want to take advantage of the feature, Fall Detection can be turned on by going into Settings > SOS > Fall Detection on the Watch, and making sure that the feature is enabled.
