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Calling 911 from your iPhone? With iOS 12, Apple will send your precise location automatically

By Daniel Petrov

Published: Jun 18, 2018, 7:09 AM

Apple Software updates

Calling 911 from your iPhone? With iOS 12, Apple will send your precise location automatically

Both Android and iOS already offer Advanced Mobile Location (AML) services, sending the best geolocation your phone can muster to emergency services when you call the local number, yet Apple is taking things to the next level with iOS 12.

With the newest software update for your iPhone and iPad this fall, Apple's partnership with the RapidSOS service will be embedded on a system level, and you won't need to download the adjacent app to send even more precise coordinates when you call 911. The service, as you could have guessed from the emergency number mention, is for US users only (Europe has its own 112 number), and works as a supplement to the current AML mapping dispatchers are used to.

Thus, every time an iPhone user calls 911, advanced location pinning will be delivered faster to dispatch centers that are integrated with the RapidSOS NG911 Clearinghouse, and emergency services in 35 states have already done so.

A lot of the time, the current AML system delivers imprecise location or is unable to pinpoint the caller's whereabouts quickly, and Apple's RapidSOS integration into iOS 12 comes to the rescue.

source: RapidSOS

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.