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| Apple's collision detection feature is causing problems in Japan |
Japanese authorities are urging owners of iPhone 14 phones and some Apple smartwatches to be aware of the collision detection feature unnecessarily linked to emergency services.
iPhone 14 and the latest Apple Watch can help users contact emergency services when a serious car accident is detected.
And since the feature automatically calls emergency services only if the user moves violently (similar to a car crash), the feature's false alarms have caused problems in recent weeks, resulting in a spike in calls. Sections near ski resorts.
Firefighters in the ski resort of Nagano in the Northern Alps received 919 emergency calls between December 16, 2022 and January 23, 2023, the Yomiuri Shimbun said Sunday, but 134 of them were fake calls, most of them hoaxes. Part of it is the collision detection function.
The Jeju City Fire Department in Gifu Prefecture received 351 emergency calls between January 1 and January 23, but 135 of those calls were also false alarms.
Although users can turn the feature off, one firefighter said the feature's effectiveness in major accidents prevented them from asking users to turn it off. However, officials at the agency are asking the public to notify the local fire department if their iPhones are making fake emergency calls.
Collision detection false alerts are not limited to slip. Last October, the feature allegedly called emergency services across the US simply because users were moving too fast during a roller coaster ride.