Apple Watch SOS Feature Helps Save A Man Who Was Knocked Unconscious

Apple earlier this week shared a YouTube video highlighting how the fall detection feature on the Apple Watch managed to help a man who was knocked unconscious while mountain biking with his kids. The video testimonial is short, but underscores the degree to which the Apple Watch has transformed from a basic smartwatch with fitness tracking capabilities to a device that quite literally helps save lives.

The video features a man named Phil who explains that he mistimed a small jump while mountain biking and ended up crashing hard, rendering him completely unconscious. He doesn't remember the details of the actual accident which left him with a broken collarbone and seven broken ribs.

Thankfully, the fall detection feature on Phil's Apple Watch sprang into action. The Apple Watch automatically called the fire department, and dispatchers were able to send personnel to rescue him because the device was able to share his precise location. Apple's brief video also mentions that Phil's Apple Watch alerted his wife that an incident occurred. Once Phil was rescued and brought to a hospital, he stayed there for a week until he was well enough to go home.

Apple's video can be seen below:

The evolution of the Apple Watch has been fascinating. When it was originally released, you might recall that it was positioned as a luxury item. Remember the $17,000 Apple Watch Edition? Before long, however, Apple shifted the device to be more of a smartwatch with expansive fitness tracking capabilities. Following that, Apple began to slowly but surely add a myriad of health and safety-oriented Apple Watch features that have saved countless lives over the past few years.

The aforementioned fall detection feature, for example, was released with the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018. Utilizing the device's accelerometer, the Apple Watch can detect an abrupt and sudden fall and automatically call emergency services with your exact coordinates. When the call ends, the Apple Watch will also send a message to your designated emergency contact. What makes the feature all the more useful is that it works even if a user finds themselves outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. Specifically, if you're out of cellular or Wi-Fi range, the Apple Watch can relay the call to emergency services via satellite.

As a final point, it's worth noting that stories of the Apple Watch being used to save lives are plentiful. One example we covered a few years ago involved a hiker who fell off of a cliff. In what could have otherwise been a dire situation, the person's Apple Watch detected the fall and was able to call 911.