Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra are the first models to include Crash Detection, and the new feature is already coming to the rescue.
An Indianapolis man named Nolan Abell credits his newly purchased Apple Watch Series 8 with calling for help after a dangerous car crash. Nolan says he hit a pole while driving at a high speed just one week after buying the watch.
While fighting to stay conscious, Nolan felt the haptic feedback of the Apple Watch and heard a voice asking if he was there.
“If it weren’t for this watch, who knows how long it would have been for help to get to me,” Nolan told ABC News. “Someone would have found me eventually, but this had EMS to me in five minutes.”
“If your iPhone or Apple Watch detects a severe car crash, your device can help connect you to emergency services,” Apple says. “Crash Detection is designed to detect severe car crashes—such as front-impact, side-impact, and rear-end collisions, and rollovers—involving sedans, minivans, SUVs, pickup trucks, and other passenger cars. When a severe car crash is detected, your iPhone or Apple Watch sounds an alarm and displays an alert.”
Crash Detection is not just new to the Apple Watch. iPhone 14 models including Plus, Pro, and Pro Max all include Crash Detection as well. Not all watches work independently from an iPhone. When you’re away from your iPhone, Crash Detection will only work with Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra.
“If you have your iPhone and Apple Watch, the Emergency Call slider appears only on your watch, and the call is connected and the call audio plays from your watch,” Apple explains.
When Crash Detection goes off, the user has 20 seconds to dismiss the alert because emergency services are called. Apple Watch has also championed Fall Detection, including the recent addition of optimizations for cycling crashes.
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