Apple uses GlobalStar for this feature. GlobalStar does not have full worldwide coverage.

Starlink has limited coverage at the poles, Iridium has worldwide coverage.

Emergency SOS via satellite available today on the iPhone 14 lineup in the US and Canada

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/11/e...hone-14-lineup/

Seems France, Germany, Ireland and UK get access in December.


Edit: Also a review.

Apple’s Satellite Emergency SOS Feature: A Review & Deep-Dive Explainer

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/11/apple-iphone-satellite-sos-emergency-explainer.html

First rescue reported.

Alaska Dept. of Public Safety, State Troopers, Public Information Office:
Daily Dispatch

More discussion here:
Apple's iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature Saves Stranded Man in Alaska

Above 62° latitude too. Hopefully had a dedicated device aswell.

It is north of 62° latitude. However the second linked article has an error. Kotzebue is at about 66° north (NOT 69° as the article suggests).

Keep in mind that that part of Alaska is for the most part a very flat coastal plain. He likely had a good view of the southern horizon. The orbits of the GlobalStar satellites that the iPhone uses are optimized for the mid and lower latitudes where most of the worlds people live. In more northerly regions those satellites will be low on the southern horizon. Any hills or mountains to the south will tend to block the signal from the satellite. The 62° latitude that Apple quotes is no doubt a somewhat arbitrary figure based on your probability of seeing a satellite above the visible skyline. If this fellow had been in a more hilly (let alone mountainous) region, it probably would not have worked as well.

Yeah, here's the coverage maps.

https://www.globalstar.com/en-gb/coverage-maps

Seems Apple are using data+voice services, and not SPOT service which has far wider coverage.

I wonder if he wrote "FIRST!" in his satellite communication...jk

Another success. This time a car plummeted 300 feet with two occupants.

https://twitter.com/MontroseSAR/status/1602828980121325568

IEEE article on how cell phones becoming sat phones

Your Cellphone Will Be a Satphone

https://spectrum.ieee.org/satellite-cellphone

My iphone 12 mini (which I LOVED) took a swim off the side of a boat during a race in 40+ feet of water (i.e., too deep to easily get and didn't want to stop racing...). I therefore got an iPhone 14 to replace it. If you have one and you haven't tried the satellite emergency messaging demo, please do so. It is very neat.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213426