In a recent incident, a hiker in Georgia was saved from a potentially fatal fall by the fall detection feature of his Apple Watch.

What Happened: Mike Menand, while hiking with his dogs at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, came across a coyote. The encounter startled Menand, causing him to fall, reported Fox5 Atlanta.

Unable to access his phone, Menand’s Apple Watch, detecting the sudden fall and not receiving a dismissal within a minute, automatically sent an emergency alert. If an emergency contact is on file, a text message containing a map indicating the fall location is sent to the contact.

Menand had to undergo surgery to insert a titanium rod in his broken leg after the incident. He credited his Apple Watch for playing a crucial role in his rescue, stating, “There's no telling how long I would've been laying there."

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Menand also pointed out that a month later, a woman hiker in the same park fell and didn’t survive, highlighting the potentially life-saving impact of the fall detection feature in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) smartwatches.

Why It Matters: The Apple Watch’s fall detection feature is not the device’s only life-saving feature. The smartwatch has saved several lives due to its various emergency features.

For instance, a user was rescued from a highway car crash when their Apple Watch alerted their emergency contact and informed emergency services. Similarly, an Oklahoma man credited the Apple Watch for his transformation from a heart attack survivor to a marathon runner.

These lifesaving features, such as crash detection and fall detection, were introduced by Apple with the iPhone 14 series and Apple Watch Series 8 in 2022. They have proven to be invaluable in situations of distress, as seen in these incidents.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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