Apple Watch Fall Detection uses the Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 4 or later series, which requires a synced iPhone, to detect a fall while the watch is being worn. This feature is included once you purchase an Apple Watch, so you don’t have to pay extra for it. To turn fall detection on or off, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Then, tap My Watch and Emergency SOS. If you choose on, you can opt for Always on or Only on during workouts.
If it detects a fall, it will “tap” the person on the wrist with a buzz, sound an alarm and show an alert. The person can then choose to connect to emergency services or dismiss the alert by pressing the “digital crown” button on the side of the watch. Users can also tap to close the alert or tap “I’m OK” to dismiss the alert.
If the Apple Watch senses the person is moving, it will wait for them to respond. However, if the person appears to be immobile for approximately 60 seconds, the Apple Watch starts a 30-second countdown while it taps them on the wrist and sounds an alert.
The alert gets progressively louder so that either the user or someone near them can hear it. Unless someone taps the cancel button, the watch will contact emergency services automatically as soon as the countdown ends. It will share the person’s current location as latitude and longitude coordinates via Apple’s GPS location monitoring feature.
Once the call is completed, the watch sends a message to the user’s emergency contacts with their location so they know a fall was detected and emergency services have been notified. The watch pulls these emergency contacts from the user’s Medical ID, which must be set up in advance to make the best use of the fall detection feature. Unless the person confirms that they didn’t fall with their Apple Watch, all falls are automatically recorded in their Health app.
To reap the benefits of Apple Watch Fall Detection, you’ll need an Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 4 or later, as well as an iPhone. An Apple Watch will run you $249 or more, depending on which watch you choose.
