Future iPhones and Apple Watches may detect when users are in an automobile crash and call 911.
According to The Wall Street Journal (a subscription is required to read the entire article) next year Apple plans to roll out a feature dubbed “crash detection” that would do just that. The feature would use iPhone and Apple Watch sensors like the accelerometer to “detect car accidents as they occur.” The story says Apple has been testing the feature by collecting data shared anonymously by iPhone and Apple Watch users, and the devices have apparently already detected more than 10 million suspected vehicle impacts. As with any feature in testing, the report cautions that Apple could choose not to release it.
From the WSJ article: Apple products have already detected more than 10 million suspected vehicle impacts, of which more than 50,000 included a call to 911.
Apple has been using the 911 call data to improve the accuracy of its crash-detection algorithm, since an emergency call associated with a suspected impact gives Apple more confidence that it is indeed a car crash, according to the documents.
