Apple Watch called 911 after wearer collapsed and was left unresponsive

By Oliver Haslam
published

Pride 2020 Apple Watch Bands Glasses Hero
Pride 2020 Apple Watch Bands Glasses Hero (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple Watches calling 911 is a common theme nowadays.
  • The wearable has saved lives before.
  • This time it called 911 after its wearer fainted and didn't get back up.

We've shared stories of Apple Watches saving lives before and we'll continue to do so. Not only because it's super cool that technology can do this stuff, but also because the more people know this is a thing, the better. The most recent example is a man in Phoenix, Arizona whose Apple Watch called 911 when he fainted. He had no idea it was happening.

As reported by KTAR News, the man's watch called emergency services who were then able to dispatch patrol officers as well as the fire department. The watch had given dispatchers the man's exact location, making finding him a relatively simple task.

"He would never have been able to provide us his location or any information on what was going on," said dispatch supervisor Adriana Cacciola. "He wasn't even aware that any help was coming until we were already there."

Thankfully it seems that this situation wasn't one of life or death, but when the man didn't move for a minute the Apple Watch did what it was supposed to do when it detects a fall – make the emergency call and wait.

Oh, another reason we'll share news of Apple Watch – and Fall Detection – doing its thing? It means everyone can enjoy this GIF.

Rene Ritchie falling over

Rene Ritchie falling over (Image credit: Rene Ritchie / iMore)

Thanks, Rene!

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.