The iPhone continues to become a viable backcountry tool. Photo: Spencer Backman//Unsplash
Smartphones have revolutionized the way we hike. They’ve given us access to useful apps that provide maps, trails, weather, and, more recently, emergency communication outside of cell signal range. Back in January I openly posed the question if Apple’s SOS emergency satellite messaging feature on iPhone 14 and 15 could replace the long-trusted satellite devices specifically built for those who recreate outdoors.
The conclusion that I reached was: not just yet. While useful, feedback on Apple’s satellite feature indicated that it wasn’t as reliable as dedicated satellite communication devices like Garmin, and the smartphones themselves aren’t as durable in the elements. However, I also curiously ended my story with this sentence: “I can’t imagine it will take too long for Apple to improve its satellite capabilities to more strongly compete in the market.”
With the latest software update, iOS 18, which will be released in the fall, Apple is building on its satellite communication service. Now, instead of only emergency calls via satellite, you’ll be able to freely communicate via iMessage or SMS with whomever you please on iPhone 14 or newer. Want to message your friends while camping out of cell range? No problem. It may seem like a minor update, but it’s another smartphone incursion into the satellite device space. Even Android is experimenting with it too.
Grayson Haver Currin penned a piece for Outside that gave a great example of how this service would have saved him some trouble. Currin got separated from his wife on the Continental Divide Trail. Unable to directly contact her, he used his iPhone satellite feature to contact emergency services and get search and rescue involved. Had he instead been able to contact her to request her location, the crisis would have been quickly averted.
The satellite messaging service will only be available in the US, which is a tick on the “cons” side of the Venn diagram for those who live elsewhere. But, again, the point is that the service is improving fast. Apple is making its product increasingly tantalizing for outdoorsy people. As a hiker, I am tempted to pick up a new iPhone just for this update.
Satellite messaging is not Apple’s only foray into the space currently dominated by outdoors-oriented technology companies. The iOS 18 update will also replicate features found in popular hiking apps, like AllTrails, in Apple’s own Maps app. As a thrifty, avid hiker, it’s hard to complain about the technology race. These desired features are becoming more accessible and at lower price points, which, in theory, should translate to safer hiking.
