Apple Is Adding Video to Emergency SOS Calls in iOS 18
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From Apple Intelligence to a more customizable Home Screen, there’s so much coming in iOS 18 that it’s easy to miss many of the smaller features that Apple announced during last month’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
One of these is an enhancement to the Emergency SOS features that will allow you to communicate with first responders by video, rather than merely placing a voice call. As Chris noted over at MacTrast shortly after the WWDC keynote, Apple tucked the announcement of the feature in its iOS 18 press release rather than mentioning it on stage and described it like this:
Emergency SOS Live Video allows users to share context through streaming video and recorded media. In the middle of an emergency call, participating emergency dispatchers can send a request for a user to share live video or media from the user’s camera roll over a secure connection, making it easier and faster to get help.
This shouldn’t be confused with Emergency SOS via satellite. While that feature has created a lot of buzz since Apple introduced it on the iPhone 14 nearly two years ago, Emergency SOS has been a core feature of the iPhone for much longer. It was first introduced with watchOS 3 and iOS 10.2 in 2016 to provide a more efficient way of reaching 911. It eventually became a core part of later safety features like Fall Detection and Crash Detection since those rely on placing an emergency call automatically.
It’s that original feature that Emergency SOS Live Video will build on. While Apple is also expanding its satellite connectivity features in iOS 18 to include messages, there’s absolutely no way the iPhone’s satellite communications technology has the capacity to handle video calls, considering even voice calls are out of the question — Emergency SOS via satellite relies strictly on text messaging communications.
Of course, the catch with a feature like this is having 911 call centers that can process these calls. Thankfully, Apple doesn’t usually build features into its operating systems merely because it can, and the company undoubtedly already had some partners lined up. Now, two of the biggest ones are stepping up to the plate to announce support for the new capabilities.
Both RapidSOS and Prepared announced today that their technologies are ready to empower 911 dispatchers to communicate with folks in dire straits using Emergency SOS Live Video:
RapidSOS is thrilled to share that RapidSOS UNITE will be integrated with Apple Emergency SOS Live Video, coming to iOS 18 this fall!RapidSOS
With the release of iOS 18 this fall, 911 dispatchers empowered by Prepared technology will be able see exactly what iPhone users see at emergency scenes in real-time with Emergency SOS Live Video.Prepared
In addition to connecting to live video, iOS 18 will allow callers to share photos, which could help expedite things if they’ve already taken snapshots of the situation. Naturally, the existing Emergency SOS features will still work to allow folks to send text messages and provide accurate location information so that first responders can get to the scene more quickly, even if the caller can’t pin down their location.
The two agencies also shared some stock images provided by Apple to illustrate how the feature will work.
The sample images above provide a glimpse of how powerful these capabilities are, and what the caller can expect with Emergency SOS Live Video: one scenario displays the caller sharing images from their media library, and the other shows the live video capability. Both of these quickly provide the dispatcher with a real-life account of the situation from the point of view of the iPhone user.Prepared
Neither Apple nor the support platforms have said what type of connection will be required to enable live video during a 911 call. It seems likely that callers will need at least basic 4G/LTE service. Both blog posts also note that live video will need to be initiated by the emergency dispatcher making a request to the caller during a regular 911 voice call.
Emergency SOS Live Video will allow the sharing of streaming video and recorded media during emergency calls. During a call, participating emergency dispatchers will send you a request to share live video or photos over a secure connection, making it easier and faster to get the help you need.RapidSOS
RapidSOS and Prepared merely provide the technology used by 911 emergency call centers (ECCs). While they’re offering Emergency SOS Live Video at no additional cost to all of their ECC customers, it’s unclear what’s involved in getting the systems ready to support the new technology.
