Emergency SOS via Satellite Expands to Two More Countries

Still too many countries missing, especially in Europe. I wonder why it's taking so long to expand the service.

Andorra is so tiny and lodged between two large countries that already have this feature - what did Apple even do here?

I think it had less to do with Apple and more with the emergency services in these two countries being able to receive texts from citizens to begin with.

I never heard of Andorra. It sound like a TV series character :).

I never heard of Andorra. It sound like a TV series character :).

She turned me into a newt!

Andorra is so tiny and lodged between two large countries that already have this feature - what did Apple even do here?

Andorra is not part of the EU, and even though it's nominally related to both Spain and France (its co-heads of state, as princes, are the Bishop of the city of Urgell, in the neighbouring autonomous region of Catalonia, Spain, and the King of France, which technically makes the French President an elected prince), uses the Euro and is even part of the Schengen area, it's still a fully independent, sovereign state with its own laws, corporate and tax registration, etc. It's a bit of an offshore and a giant duty free shopping mall of sorts spread across its various small cities on top of being a cluster of prime winter sports destinations, in fact, and its unique legal and political status and tiny area and population obviously makes it a bit of a niche country, which may explain why it was left for this later round.

Which leads us to this feature in particular; I've personally done winter sports in Andorra, and while all the resorts I've been to are extremely well kept and feel as safe as any other abroad, yeah, there's still some degree of risk involved in those no matter where they are, as accidents and natural disasters can and definitely do happen, and any help given to emergency services is extremely welcome. For such a mountainous region like Andorra and the locals and tourists alike, it's a freaking godsend.

This fact alone makes me want to subscribe to get a new iPhone and subscribe to this feature before my next visit, not even joking. Much like wearing an Apple Watch can save you from some random medical emergency, this can get you evacuated in time in case you just so happen to wander off-piste and fall out of cellular tower range (Andorra seems to be very well developed in that regard, AFAIK, as it's rather densely populated and full of infrastructure – see above, winter sports resorts are usually covered to a high degree – even considering its extreme orography, but I'm pretty sure there are blind spots here and there that will now otherwise be covered by satellite calling).

Good for users from these two regions. It is not yet available in my country and don't think it will launch any time soon.