Man Survives Hard Fall Because of Apple Watch Feature

Category: Human Interest

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. designated / ˈdɛz ɪgˌneɪ tɪd / (adj) – chosen or selected
    Example:

    You should always put your emergency kit at the designated area.


  2. en route / ɑn ˈrut / (adv) – on the way
    Example:

    While driving en route to the office, he saw a burning building.


  3. pass out / pæs aʊt / (phrasal) – to lose consciousness
    Example:

    The man passed out on the street because it was too hot outside.


  4. immobile / ɪˈmoʊ bəl / (adj) – not able to move
    Example:

    The old man was left immobile after the car accident.


  5. peril / ˈpɛr əl / (n) – serious risk or danger
    Example:

    Passengers of the upturned boat are in peril and need to be rescued.


Article

Read the text below.

A man survived a hard fall from his bike after his Apple watch alerted his family and emergency services of the accident.


Gabe Burdett and his father Bob were supposed to go mountain biking together. While waiting at the designated meeting place, Gabe received an alert from his father’s Apple watch, saying that the old man had suffered a hard fall. The message included a map to his father’s location.


While riding en route to the meeting place, Bob had indeed fallen from his bike and passed out. His smartwatch then called and sent his location to emergency services. Help had arrived before his son could catch him. After a while, his son received another message from the watch updating Bob’s location, which was now at the hospital.


The latest Apple watches are equipped with a safety feature that detects hard falls. When a hard fall is detected, the watch taps the wearer’s wrist and displays an alert. The wearer can opt to dismiss this notification or order the watch to contact emergency services.


However, if the wearer is immobile 60 seconds after a hard fall, the watch begins a 30-second countdown while continuously tapping the wearer and producing a loud noise. After the countdown, the watch calls emergency services and sends a message to the wearer’s emergency contacts.


Gabe posted this story on Facebook and encouraged people to use their Apple watches’ emergency feature as it can potentially save them from peril.


The feature is automatically turned on for users over 65 years old, but it needs to be turned on manually for younger users.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

• After reading the article, would you recommend or consider buying an Apple watch? Why or why not?
• Aside from those who are over 65 years old, who else should have this feature automatically activated on their devices? Explain.

Discussion B

• Aside from smartwatches, what other devices can include emergency safety features (e.g. bike, jacket)?
• Aside from fall detection, what other emergency safety features should be added to smart devices? Discuss.