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Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

seattletimes.com

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Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#301

Post by noodlesUK »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #275
noodlesUK wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally +1 on Garmin as well. My friend was in a relatively severe hit and run when he was on a bike. His bike computer called emergency services. It probably saved his life. (He’s doing okay now)

Wait, the bike's computer called emergency services, not the smartwatch? How?

The bike computer pairs to the phone, phone (I believe) contacts emergency services. There was no smart watch involved, just saying their watches aren’t the only things they make with that capability.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#302

Post by macintux »

mcny wrote: post #224
toomuchtodo wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If in a car accident, your auto insurance will cover the replacement cost. Ensure you include it in the claim.

Speaking of car seats, Steven Levitt did this talk eleven years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um5gMZcZWm0 The gist of it is that car seats do not help nearly as much as we hope. I got the impression that there ought to be a car with a built-in, non-removable car seat would work better. I'd imagine this would be an instant hit in the SUV market. However, no automaker seems to take up on the challenge. Is there…

Unless you’re leasing, I don’t think parents would be thrilled to have a seat unusable after a few years. And even if you are, sometimes you’re transporting people or large items other than your child.

People want safety, but they also don’t expect to actually be in a serious accident.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#303

Post by leppr »

e40 wrote: post #94
VectorLock wrote: post #81

I'd love to get my Mom and Apple Watch but getting her to switch to iPhone is probably a bridge too far. How come no Android watches have this functionality?

Or, why hasn't someone made it possible to use an Apple watch on Android?

Because the Apple Watch is made by Apple, the company that has taken pride in incompatibility as a defining feature since its first mainstream products.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#306

Post by macintux »

ineedasername wrote: post #147
sneak wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I praise Apple’s largely charitable, low-ROI intense commitment to systemwide accessibility whenever possible. They are light-years ahead of everyone else in that department.

Is it low ROI if it allows them to gain nearly all of that segment of the population's market share? But yes, they are very good at accessibility.

Fewer than 1% of the U.S. population reports a visual disability[1]. Even if Apple cornered that market, it’s not a very good ROI.

[1] https://www.nfb.org/resources/blindness-statistics

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#307

Post by xeromal »

redwall_hp wrote: post #298
ineedasername wrote: post #12

I have lots of criticisms for Apple, but this is truly an amazing thing that technology has brought us to this point. This is one of the few things that has me feeling like we "live in the future"

Let me add back to the criticism pool then (and I say this as someone with a long history of enjoyment of Apple products): while Apple touts the amazing health and safety features of their watch, they price it as an expensive status symbol/fashion item that the majority of people could never justify buying. It's classist as fuck: potentially lifesaving tools for the relatively wealthy, and screw everybody else. If th…

It costs a premium to bake in features like this and to have them fault tolerant. Even a low income family could pitch in to buy a watch for their grandma if they really wanted it.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#308

Post by gnicholas »

egdod wrote: post #157

We got a call recently from my elderly grandmother’s Apple Watch letting us know that she’d fallen. This feature was the main reason we bought the watch for her, and it worked when it mattered. (She’s fine.)

Wish I could get my grandma (90+) to wear one, since she falls regularly. Problem is that she’d never remember to charge it.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#309

Post by gnicholas »

redwall_hp wrote: post #298
ineedasername wrote: post #12

I have lots of criticisms for Apple, but this is truly an amazing thing that technology has brought us to this point. This is one of the few things that has me feeling like we "live in the future"

Let me add back to the criticism pool then (and I say this as someone with a long history of enjoyment of Apple products): while Apple touts the amazing health and safety features of their watch, they price it as an expensive status symbol/fashion item that the majority of people could never justify buying. It's classist as fuck: potentially lifesaving tools for the relatively wealthy, and screw everybody else. If th…

Although they do offer a prior model for $199, which is about as affordable as anyone could expect, this is unfortunately the Series 3, which doesn’t have this feature. Hopefully next year the “old model” will include this life-saving tech.

Re: Bike crash left Spokane man unconscious, so his Apple Watch called 911

#310

Post by nbanks »

jniedrauer wrote: post #199
cbsks wrote: post #182

Well, crap. I have been avoiding smart watches like the plague but this plus the ECG may put me over the edge. My family has a history of heart disease, I commute by bike every day, and I have a young child who I want to see grow up. One of my friends was recently killed in a motorcycle crash. A passerby found them in the morning in some bushes near the side of the road. We don't know what time the crash occurred, or…

If you're in the market for a smart watch, and you're a cyclist, I'd recommend checking out Garmin. They have a massive array of sensors and record very precise data that is aggregated on Garmin Connect. It's been invaluable to me for assessing training effectiveness over time. They make Apple watches look like toys. If you want the latest and greatest, the Forerunner 945 is probably what you're looking for, but the…

I've been thinking of switching from an old Pebble to a Garmin because it has a daylight visible screen. Do they also have a system to text in case of emergency like the Apple watch?
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