Apple ‘s recently released iPhone 14 proudly boasted its new “Crash Detection” feature, designed to contact emergency services in the event your device detects a serious car accident. But since launch, we have heard numerous reports of false positives being triggered by this technology.
Various “Extreme” Sports and Entertainment Can Be Triggers
The Fire Department of Kita-Alps, Nagano in Japan, has recently reported that between December 16 and January 23, they received 134 erroneous emergency calls, primarily from the iPhone 14 Crash Detection system activating erroneously when its owners were skiing. This puts a significant strain on local resources and should be avoided whenever possible.
During the monthlong period, emergency services workers in Japan were overwhelmed with an influx of 919 calls. Shockingly, over one-tenth of those requests stemmed from a single source. The iPhone Crash Detection feature caused approximately 100 false alarms.
Several accounts of Crash Detection false positives have been reported in the United States during winter sports and rollercoaster rides. It is believed that algorithms easily misidentify these high-speed impacts as patterns associated with driving or car accidents.
Apple Announced They Will Work to Fix These False Alarms
When the iPhone detects a crash, it instantly initiates an alarming countdown with a loud siren on the user’s device. This allows users to prevent automated calls from being placed to emergency services by canceling the process before time runs out. Nonetheless, this could be difficult during intensive activities such as rollercoasters and skiing; therefore, users may miss hearing the warning siren and fail to cancel these automated calls.Apple is striving to reduce the amount of mistaken Crash Detection calls from emergency services by engaging with local governments. In December, release notes for iOS 16.1.2 specified improvements for “Crash Detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models”. Although some people have complained about false positives causing confusion, numerous testimonies demonstrate how Crash Detection has protected lives when properly utilized.
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