Apple Shows How iPhone 14's Car Crash Detection Feature Works in New Video

Apple today shared a video explaining how to use the new car crash detection feature enabled by default on all iPhone 14 models, the Apple Watch Series 8, the Apple Watch Ultra, and the second-generation Apple Watch SE.

iPhone 14 Car Crash Detection
In a new support document published today, Apple says the crash detection feature is designed to detect severe car crashes, such as front-impact, side-impact, and rear-end collisions or rollovers involving sedans, minivans, SUVs, pickup trucks, and other passenger cars. Apple warns that the feature cannot detect all car crashes.

Apple says if a severe car crash is detected, users will interact with the Apple Watch if they are wearing one. Otherwise, users interact with the iPhone.

When a severe car crash is detected, a supported iPhone or Apple Watch displays an alert and sounds an alarm, according to Apple. If a user is able, they can call emergency services by swiping the Emergency Call slider on the iPhone or Apple Watch, or dismiss the alert. If they do not respond to the alert after 10 seconds, the device begins another 10-second countdown. If they still haven't responded, the device calls emergency services.


The car crash detection feature utilizes sensors like the accelerometer and gyroscope on a supported iPhone or Apple Watch. In a press release, Apple said the feature also relies on "advanced Apple-designed motion algorithms trained with over a million hours of real-world driving and crash record data" for increased accuracy.

Apple's video and support document outline additional information about the car crash detection feature, including important safety considerations.

Top Rated Comments

trip1ex Avatar
22 months ago
can't wait to test this out.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Starship77 Avatar
22 months ago

I still don’t get why this is iPhone version 14 and the new watch models only. Isn’t this just an accelerometer trick
It needs new hardware. A high g accelerometer that detects up to 256 Gs of acceleration and a high dynamic range gyroscope that can detect high speed rotation, like when the car, or your body, are spinning or rolling fast.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
carl76tr Avatar
22 months ago
This is perfect. Phone usage now both causes crashes and also calls for cleanup.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LeadingHeat Avatar
22 months ago
These small things are the reason I stick with Apple. You don’t see other companies developing health and safety features like this. They’re too busy bragging about their megapixels.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
22 months ago
Excellent feature. Hope I or my family will never need it. But glad it's there in case we do.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UndefinedxJoker Avatar
22 months ago

can't wait to test this out.
Appreciate your sacrifice ?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

Troubling iOS 17.5 Bug Reportedly Resurfacing Old Deleted Photos

Wednesday May 15, 2024 5:29 am PDT by
There are concerning reports on Reddit that Apple's latest iOS 17.5 update has introduced a bug that causes old photos that were deleted – in some cases years ago – to reappear in users' photo libraries. After updating their iPhone, one user said they were shocked to find old NSFW photos that they deleted in 2021 suddenly showing up in photos marked as recently uploaded to iCloud. Other...
General Apps Messages

iMessage Down for Some Users [Update: Service Restored]

Thursday May 16, 2024 3:00 pm PDT by
The iMessage service that Apple users to send messages to one another appears to be down for some users, and messages are failing to go out or are taking an extra long time to send. There are numerous reports about the issue on social networks and a spike of outage reports on Down Detector, but Apple's System Status page is not yet reporting an outage. Update: Apple's status page says...
CarPlay Sound Recognition

Apple Previews Three New CarPlay Features Coming With iOS 18

Wednesday May 15, 2024 9:18 am PDT by
Apple today previewed new accessibility features coming with iOS 18 later this year, and this includes some new options for CarPlay. Apple highlighted three new features coming to CarPlay: Voice Control: This feature will allow users to navigate CarPlay and control apps with just their voice. Color Filters: This feature will make the CarPlay interface visually easier to use for...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With the New M4 OLED iPad Pro

Wednesday May 15, 2024 10:40 am PDT by
Today is the official launch day of the new iPad Pro models, and these updated tablets mark the biggest feature and design refresh that we've seen for the iPad Pro in several years. We picked up one of the new 13-inch models to check out everything new. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. When it comes to design, Apple is still offering 11-inch and 13-inch size options ...
iphone 15 pro max vs iphone 16 pro max

iPhone 16 Pro Max Looks This Much Bigger Beside iPhone 15 Pro Max

Thursday May 16, 2024 4:51 am PDT by
This year's upcoming iPhone 16 Pro Max is expected to get a boost in overall size from 6.7-inches to 6.9-inches, and a new image gives us a good idea of how the current iPhone 15 Pro Max compares to what could be Apple's largest ever iPhone. The image above, posted on X by ZONEofTECH, shows a dummy model representing the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max alongside an actual iPhone 15 Pro Max. Dummy...
Delta Hands On Feature

iPhone Emulators on the App Store: Game Boy, N64, PS1, PSP, and More

Thursday May 16, 2024 12:45 pm PDT by
In April, Apple updated its guidelines to allow retro game emulators on the App Store, and several popular emulators have already been released. The emulators released so far allow iPhone users to play games released for older consoles from Nintendo, Sony, SEGA, Atari, and others. A list of some popular emulators available on the App Store so far follows. Released Delta Delta is...