Most smartphones have GPS built in, are you telling me it was impossible to utilize existing hardware for this feature? Or was it a deliberate decision.
Ok, perhaps not phone calls or text. What about a beacon feature?
GPS is receive only, the phone doesn't talk to the satellites, which just broadcast their signal to everyone. There is certainly a new radio (& ancillary equipment & antenna) in the latest model to support this feature.
No, that's not what it means. The phone knows its location because it can receive the GPS signals. There is no 'sending' involved at all, GPS is receive-only. To 'beacon' something it needs a transmit radio. Traditionally this is the cellular network, but it appears Apple has added a new satellite radio to their phones to augment this.
admittedly I don't, but can't a GPS system can tell you where you are, why can't GPS systems know where each phone is and create an emergency system from that ?
