r/apple • u/exjr_ Island Boy • Sep 07 '22

Apple Unveils Apple Watch Ultra With Large-Screen Design for Athletes and Explorers Apple Watch

https://www.macrumors.com/2022/09/07/apple-unveils-apple-watch-pro-athletes/
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u/TehRoot Sep 07 '22

You should absolutely NOT be replacing a dedicated satellite emergency device with your iPhone.

This is a horrible idea and absolutely can and will cost someone their life at some point.

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u/Vortex112 Sep 07 '22

Why?

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u/TehRoot Sep 07 '22

An iPhone is not an appropriate piece of safety equipment, especially if you're going into situations where you getting rescued or dying is dependent on a satellite communication device.

The caveats to operate it at are not good (manual pointing, lol... can't think of anyway that wouldn't work if you were severely injured, extremely poor performance in any foliage or canyons), the satellite constellation it uses is sub-optimal (globestar...), and it's on a device that has poor battery life and poor survivability for a piece of safety equipment (I wouldn't trust my iPhone to make it if I had a nasty fall that I broke my leg on).

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u/cristiano-potato Sep 08 '22

What would you recommend if budget isn’t an issue and someone simply wants the best emergency device you can buy?

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u/mynameisyles657 Sep 08 '22

Probably Garmin Inreach, the actual device isn’t the expensive part though. They get you with the subscription costs.

I spent two weeks driving off-road through Utah in June and ended up buying a Bivy Stick just in case my Jeep rolled and I was out of cell service.

They had the most flexible subscription options, and give you the ability to subscribe for only a month at a time where Garmin requires either a year subscription or two years, I’m a bit hazy on those details