WATCH: iPhone 14 Can Detect Crashes. Youtuber Puts It To The Test
Apple’s latest iPhone series has a new Crash Detection feature that can detect car crashes and automatically send an alert to emergency responders. The phone does this by using a combination of a gyroscope, accelerometer, GPS, barometer, and microphone, and then uses an algorithm to analyse the data from these tools to decide whether a serious car crash has taken place.
The device can detect different types of accidents, including front, side and rear impacts, and rollovers. After an accident is detected, the device will display a ten-second alert (for you to disable if it was just a false alarm), after which it will contact emergency services and, after that, your emergency contacts.
The official video introducing the feature demonstrates how the alert works but not if it works.
A better video has just emerged in which Youtuber TechRax tested the feature in real car collisions. The Youtuber rigged a regular 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis sedan to be driven remotely, placed his iPhone inside and crashed it into several scrap vehicles. His experiments showed that the feature did indeed work (but not before he had to race to retrieve the phone before it manages to place the call for help) albeit with a 10-second (or so) delay before the countdown began.
Crash Detection works on the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, second-generation Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 8, and the Apple Watch Ultra.
