Throughout the iPhone 15 launch event in Cupertino, Apple announced it’s including satellite-powered Roadside Help to the iPhone in a partnership with AAA. Shopping for and activating a brand new iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 collection system will embrace two years of Emergency SOS and Roadside Help entry without cost. The companies they join you to are lined underneath the AAA membership phrases or out there on a pay-per-use foundation for non-AAA members.
The Roadside Help service — which is US solely at launch — is an enlargement of the Emergency SOS via satellite feature launched with iPhone 14 final yr. When you’ve got automotive hassle, you may textual content AAA for help to your emergencies, comparable to being locked out, operating out of gasoline, or a flat tire (, these instances while you wouldn’t name 911 however nonetheless need assistance). The service works by leveraging Apple’s Emergency Text via satellite option when you don’t have any mobile or Wi-Fi protection.
This might show important in the event you get that flat tire or {dead} battery in a distant space. If you join, a display will pop up with a brief questionnaire for important particulars that may be transmitted through satellite tv for pc to AAA, who will then message you instantly and dispatch somebody to your location. One caveat is that the satellite tv for pc characteristic requires a transparent line of sight to the sky, so it may not work in the event you break down in a closely wooded forest.
Apple hasn’t introduced the associated fee for Emergency SOS after the primary two years — the primary units to incorporate it are just one yr in.