this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2023
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Apple
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It really blows my mind that Apple doesn’t offer this as a free service for owners of the phone. I mean can you imagine this as a selling point for parents alone?
Not sure what you’re talking about. Did you even read the article? It’s free and always has been. They’ve never even brought up a price.
The stories of people saved are marketing gold for Apple.
The only context to view their language (extending free year) is that they intend to switch to some form of a paid model i.e bundled or standalone.
I'm not commenting on whether that's good, or bad, just that it's clearly what they are planning on doing. Otherwise, they wouldn't use that specific language.
The language was present when they initially launched the iPhone 14 saying that service is free for 2 years. Nothing has changed with this announcement except it potentially being a paid feature being pushed back.
See: https://web.archive.org/web/20220917013039/https://www.apple.com/iphone/
Under "Which iPhone is right for you?", scroll down to the "Emergency SOS via satellite (3)", click the link and it scrolls to the 3rd footnote stating:
It’s called keeping your options open. I don’t expect it to go paid, ever.
Can you imagine the negative publicity if some family with little kids dies because it’s behind a paywall? Me neither. Won’t happen but it keeps their competitors off balance.
I did read the article but maybe I am confused so feel free to clarify for me.
The article states:
‘Apple extends Emergency SOS via satellite for an additional free year for existing iPhone 14 users’
So the implication is it isn’t free after that time. What about other iPhone users? Is this free for everyone irregardless who has any model iPhone or just the 14?
The implication is that Apple's language is very specifically implying this is a fee-for-service product, but that they are waiving that cost for a defined time period. They may extend that again, or several more times, but they are going out of their way to NOT say it's just free, or simply an included feature e.g. FindMy.
If their intent was to have it be an included service, they would NOT include the language about how long it will remain free.
Releasing too much info gives your competitors an advantage. Keeping them in the dark keeps them guessing.
Guessing they’ll be moving to starlink at some point in the future and it will get even more affordable.
I don’t see it being an incredibly expensive service for them to provide given the obvious public relations gains, especially when they just said they’d be opening it for auto incidents too. Super high volume compared to a few (hundred?) rescues.
That said, I could see the auto coverage being a paid service down the road. Pun intended.
iPhone 15 users were given 2 years when they bought the device. This would align last year's iphone 14 owners with a potential monetization plan next year.
Source:
That’s exactly what they’re doing right now. They’ve not made an indefinite commitment to it, but it’s the second free year for a device enter its second year.