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Apple upgrades the iPhone 14 specs with HDR gyro and 256G accelerometer for Crash Detection

Published: Sep 09, 2022, 10:05 AM

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If you dive deeper into the iPhone 14 specs sheet, one interesting difference with all of the iPhone 13 models, cheap or expensive, emerges that wasn't paid too much attention to or featured during the "Far Out" event keynote presentation or in the phones' overview pages, for that matter.

The iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max are actually listed to sport upgraded internals in the form of what Apple calls "high dynamic range gyro" and "high-g accelerometer" instead of the "three-axis gyro" and simply "accelerometer" that it lists for the iPhone 13 line.

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Save with Verizon's iPhone 14 Pro Max One Unlimited iPhone plan offer

Verizon has a new and exclusive One Unlimited for iPhone plan bundle with the 14 Pro Max and will give you $1000 towards its purchase for any iPhone 11 Pro and up, even with cracked screen damage. Get Apple One (Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud+) in one plan, with Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband to boot. Switchers get $200 extra in the form of a Verizon gift card.

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The iPhone 14 Crash detection's new sensors

Apple says that it has upgraded the iPhone 14's movement sensors precisely for the Crash Detection feature. The new high g-force accelerometer can detect "extreme accelerations or decelerations up to 256 Gs," while the high dynamic range gyro looks for any unorthodox changes in a car’s orientation.

Apple went through more than a million hours of "real‑world driving and crash data" in order to make Crash Detection on the iPhone 14 possible. Besides the new high dynamic range gyro and 256G accelerometer, Apple also uses existing iPhone 14 sensors in order to detect crashes with certainty.

The barometer, for instance, looks for atmospheric pressure changes that are possibly brought on by airbag deployment, while the iPhone 14 series' microphones try and detect loud bangs and other sounds consistent with severe car accidents.

"We developed advanced motion algorithms by performing head-on, rear-end, side-impact, and rollover crash tests," says Apple, explaining why it would be challenging for other phone makers to replicate its new Crash Detection feature that arrives with the iPhone 14 series.

Cue the "Apple iPhone Crash Detection saves... after a car accident" news titles that proliferated after the Apple Watch introduced its Fall Detection option that can probe emergency contacts and the 911 service if it senses that one of its wearers may have collapsed on the floor.

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, 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.