Apple and AAA partner to offer roadside assistance via satellite SOS
Next time you're stranded in the desert, you might be thankful you dropped $1,000 on an iPhone 15 Pro.
That's because Apple is partnering with AAA to offer roadside assistance to drivers via satellite SOS connectivity, per Apple's iPhone 15 Pro press release. It's an expansion of the satellite features that were introduced in the iPhone 14 a year ago, which exists to connect people in emergency situations without cellular service to emergency dispatchers.
Now, people can use it for vehicular matters, too.
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In order to make it happen, users will have to connect to a satellite, answer a short questionnaire about their problem, and help will hopefully be dispatched to wherever they are. Of course, it's not without caveats. One is that the feature requires clear line of sight to the sky, so forests might cause trouble. Another is that satellite connectivity is free for iPhone 14 and 15 owners for two years after activation, but AAA's roadside service will more than likely cost money.
Still, all of that is better than having no options at all when you're trapped on the side of a road in the middle of Kansas.
Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He is also a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports fan. Alex can be found on Bluesky at yelix.bsky.social.
