Samsung smartphones may soon get iPhone-like ‘crash detection’ feature

Impact detection is arguably one of the most important recent developments in smartphones and wearable technology. Google was the first to introduce the feature in 2019. This was followed by Apple, which introduced ‘crash detection’ on the iPhone 14 series, the Apple Watch Series 8, the Apple Watch Ultra as well as the second-gen SE in September 2022.

Now, Samsung had introduced the feature in 2023, with its Galaxy Watch6 series. Strangely, however, it still hasn’t introduced the feature on any of its smartphones, including the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series, the erstwhile flagship S23 series, or even the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip5 smartphones. That could potentially change soon.

A new report by Mishaal Rehman from Android Police spotted a ‘Car crash detect’ sensor via the Tasker app. Rehman found the same in a list of sensors on his Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5. It was also subsequently found on the app on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

What the Car crash detect sensor is and how it works

The Car crash detect sensor is a composite virtual sensor. That is to say, one that fuses data available from multiple underlying physical sensors and transmits the same to your phone. It is designed not to allow for batching sensor events, such that any apps reading it are notified immediately of any potential car crashes.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S24 series launched with Galaxy AI, 7-year software support

The publication also found a hidden system app in One UI 6.1 called “MoccaMobile,” which contains the code for starting and stopping the car crash sensor mentioned above. However, they weren’t able to decipher the UI for what any alerts relating to potential accidents detected on the phones might look like.

Strangely, the app was found in older builds of One UI, such as One UI 5.1.1 in the case of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and One UI 6 for the Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, the crash detection sensor mentioned above wasn’t even found on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Therefore, whether the feature will make its way to older Samsung devices remains unknown as of now.

In any case, while these findings strongly suggest Samsung may introduce impact detection capabilities on its smartphones in the future, there has been no confirmation from the company regarding the same as of yet. It is possible that the feature is currently undergoing testing and may be rolled out sometime in the future. However, whether it actually is in the works, only time will tell.

Either way, impact detection would be an extremely valuable addition to Samsung’s devices in general, and add to their utility all the more. Not to mention, it would help Samsung’s flagship devices match Apple’s iPhone lineup with a life-saving feature.