Decoding Apple’s Crash Detection: A deep dive into its functionality

Apple’s Crash Detection feature is one that’s been many years in the making. Taking advantage of advances in sensor technology and AI, Apple revealed the feature in 2022 alongside its iPhone 14 launch. Essentially, your phone and smartwatch both act like always-on crash sensors that keep an eye on your movement. 

When they detect a crash, they automatically notify authorities and friends or family – depending on how you set up the device – and might even flash your medical ID to first responders. This ID will of course contain all medically relevant information about you, including blood type and allergies.

How Crash Detection works

As one would expect, a crash is very violent, something that involves a rapid and unexpected change of speed, and usually accompanied by loud noises. This might seem like an unusual way of describing a crash, but we’re describing it this way to explain a crash from the perspective of your smartphone or smartwatch. 

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Apple’s iPhones and Watches detect this rapid and unexpected change of speed using high dynamic range gyroscopes and a high-G accelerometer, and the audio via the mics. The device’s GPS and barometer also play a part in detecting a crash. All of this sensor data is fed into a motion algorithm that’s been trained to identify crashes.

When a crash happens, the sensors detect all this sudden activity, the motion algorithm analyses the data, and confirms that a crash has happened. This happens in a fraction of a second.

Calling emergency services

Next, your Apple Watch or iPhone – the Watch is first priority – will show a message on screen saying that a crash has been detected and it will give you 20 seconds to respond. You can cancel the timer if the crash is not severe or detected in error, or you can speed it up by immediately speaking with emergency services.

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If you don’t respond, the Apple device will contact emergency services after 10 seconds and will start playing a message on a loop. This message will explain that you’ve been involved in a crash, and will share your precise location. The message will keep repeating till the call ends or you manually disable it.

Once this call is done, your Apple device will notify your emergency contacts and give them the same information. Once this is also done, the phone will notify you that it would like to display your Medical ID data.

Compatible devices

Crash Detection is enabled by default on all supported Apple devices, even in India. Supported devices include all iPhones and Apple Watches since the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, Apple Watch SE (2), Apple Watch 8, and Apple Watch Ultra. Older devices are likely not supported as they’re missing the high-resolution sensors needed to accurately detect a crash. 

Apple’s Fall Detection technology is, however, available on all devices since the Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 4, and Apple Watch Ultra. As the name suggests, Fall Detection only detects falls and not crashes. It might detect a crash, but not with a high degree of accuracy.

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Crash Detection is a powerful, and often life saving feature. While it can be disabled, we’d recommend leaving it on. We’d also recommend setting up your Medical ID using the instructions available here. The site also contains instructions for updating emergency contacts, signing up to be an organ donor, and more. Crash Detection and Medical ID will come in handy when you least expect it, but also when you likely need them the most.