Do you take a hard fall while wearing your Apple Watch ? Don't worry, your Apple Watch will detect the fall, allowing you to quickly contact emergency services if necessary. A handy option that could save lives. Sounds exciting? It's not, but it is handy!
How does fall detection work?
If you take a hard fall with the Apple Watch on your wrist, the watch will immediately detect this. Upon detection, the watch will play a sound and tap your wrist. A notification will then appear on the Apple Watch screen to check if everything is OK. You will now have the option to make an emergency call or dismiss the alert.
Make an emergency call
To make an emergency call, slide the 'SOS Emergency' slider to the right. The emergency services will be called automatically. You can end the call by clicking 'Stop call' and then clicking 'Yes'. Once an emergency call has been made, your SOS contacts will also receive a notification. You can set who these people are in your medical ID.
Close warning
If it is not necessary to call emergency services, you can dismiss the alert. You can do this by clicking 'Dismiss' or 'All Good' on the Apple Watch screen. You can also dismiss the alert by pressing the button on the top right side of the Apple Watch.
What if there is no response to the report?
From the moment the fall is detected, the Apple Watch will monitor your movement. If the watch detects movement, it will wait for a response to the notification. However, if no movement is detected after 1 minute, the Apple Watch will automatically make an emergency call to the emergency services. So if you are no longer able to respond after the fall, your safety is still guaranteed.
What are the benefits of fall detection?
If you are in a demographic that is more likely to fall, the Apple Watch can provide medical assistance if needed. For example, fall detection could be useful if you live alone or participate in independent activities where the risk of falling is high.
The assumption that fall detection is especially useful for the elderly does not have to be true. Do you sometimes cycle to work or do you enjoy extreme sports such as climbing? Since there is also a chance that you will fall, you can also enable fall detection here.
Are there any disadvantages?
The biggest disadvantage of fall detection is that the Apple Watch may detect a fall when it doesn't. Since the watch immediately notifies you when a fall is detected, the notification can be dismissed immediately so that no one is alerted.
How do I enable fall detection?
Fall detection is turned off by default on Apple Watches unless you are 55 or older. Here are some steps to turn fall detection on:
- Open the 'Watch app' on your iPhone
- Click on 'My Watch' at the bottom left
- Click on 'SOS Emergency'
- Scroll down and enable fall detection: here you also have the option to enable fall detection only during workouts
No unnecessary luxury
All in all, the fall detection of the Apple Watch is not an unnecessary luxury. The function could well save lives. Perhaps you even know someone in your environment who would benefit from the fall detection. Then the Apple Watch would be a nice gift to ensure the safety of this person.
