Apple IOS 18 Just KILLED Garmin InReach... Here's Why. (Satellite Messaging)
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- čas přidán 10. 06. 2024
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Hopefully it'll force Garnin to lower the InReach subscription costs to remain competitive.
Well unless it's new price if FREE, I don't see how they're going to sell anymore of these
Yep , capitalism
That’s no lie, while awesome as a tool the current companies are crazy expensive.
@@EdwardsNHI’d still stick with garmin if they lowered the price, cause having a second device, and a more rugged one would be preferable. But if they want to keep the price super high, then I’ll just get the latest iPhone.
I mean they still need the "oh sh!t" mode of the in reach where you flip the switch and they release search and rescue.
I sold my Inreach when I bought my iPhone 15 Pro. I go on a 3 to 4 week hike once a year and do 4 or so overnight hikes in addition to that. I have not felt as though I miss the Inreach, as all I wanted it for was emergency situations anyways. Now that I can send regular messages soon, I would not consider an Inreach again.
does it do two way messaging i go to alaska and i need to communicated with helicopter to fly out
Couldnt the dispatcher theoretically communicate with you via a cell phone once you contact them for emergency???
@@Leon-qh9br yes
@@roamsyNot if you're out of reach of cell tower coverage. Which is the whole point of sattelite communication. Otherwise, why not contact them via cell directly?
"I'm lost in the woods"
Reply with emoji: haha xD LOL 😂
This could be a game changer and would definitely have me upgrade my phone by the end of the summer. The subscription is pricey on the Garmin Inreach for the chance you might use it. Here in North Texas on trails it’s nice to have been but rarely necessary.
I just bought an iPhone 15Pro specifically for the emergency satellite capability. I am really pleased to hear of the update to text messages via satellite, an unexpected bonus. I am an older outdoor person, but not a serious adventurer who would probably benefit from the Garmin. My concern is a trip-fall injury where I would need help. Thanks for the update information it is well presented.
Competition is always good for consumers. InReach will need to adjust the pricing model to survive this.
To what?! How do they survive this? Currently zero extra charge on the iPhone
@@EdwardsNH Apple is still testing the water. We will know the price within a year or so. They never promised it to be free, and they pay many millions to Globalstar to launch and operate satellites. Apple has never been a philanthropy, they will earn money on this service.
@@EdwardsNHAndroid users.
Redundancy is always welcome.
I am considering replacing my old iPhone XS with the upcoming iPhone 16 Pro because of the satellite SOS feature. When I lived in Hong Kong, the cell network coverage was excellent, eliminating the need for a satellite device. However, now that I have moved to BC, I worry about how to call for help when I go to the countryside. Some of my friends suggest buying an InReach, but I don't want to spend money on and carry an extra device. Therefore, I think the satellite feature on the iPhone is definitely a game-changer compared to other recreational satellite devices on the market.
Depending on the cost this might be a game changer. I have a pro max with big battery my InReach mini battery isn’t that long lasting anyway
I hope this works out! Would be a game changer for fast packing adventures. Live track would crush garmin
I would stop using my garmin simply just because how time consuming and unnecessary complicated the setup is.And it’s pretty expensive to use to. I live in Sweden so probably won’t be available here soon but will be using this feature for sure instead of the garmin.
You’ve been killing it with all of these videos! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Thanks!
@@ChaseTheSummit also with these added improvements to the ecosystem, it makes it really interesting how it can be implemented into future Apple Watch Ultras. I have all Apple products but also big into fitness. I’m just hoping for a AWU to last more than a few days.
I am a pilot and sent several text messages without any issues at 30,000 feet. I don’t have WiFi in the aircraft I fly so it’s been absolutely amazing. Messages have gone pretty fast and without any issues within a few seconds. I am glad I didn’t waist $300 plus monthly subscription on the Garmin inreach
How? Do you have ios18 beta?
Yes. I downloaded ios18
@@petergab734 That’s pretty crazy! This is game changing for sure but I’ve heard not all countries are going to support text through satellite.
Tmobile working with starlink to bring txt then voice and data is probably a bigger deal, but won’t be ready for primetime for a while. They just started testing it this spring.
For backpacking always bring a battery bank anyways so battery life not as big of an issue. Makes the iPhone much more appealing for people who maybe go out 3-4 times a year
I have a 13 pro max and was planning to upgrade to the 16 when it is available. Hopefully the battery life is good. For some time I have believed that a good new phone with all of the automatic seeking features turned off has more than enough battery for several days when using it intermittently. But going to just one device, no spare battery, requires extra care of that device. Breaking it, very bad idea. So in addition to a screen protector and good solid case, additional protection should be used. If you don’t need it much stuff it in your pack. If you need it on hand, for maps or photos, a hard case perhaps 🤔.
I own an inReach and hate the way Garmin has setup their subscription model, so very excited about this.
Same, yes you can pause it but come on, 35 a month?
When Apple first announced satellite communication they said eventually they intend on it being a subscription model too.
@@barryfrombarnsley2790Exactly this. I think we all know that they’re giving out free samples and wants us to get hooked. Classic drug dealer tactics.
Ditto
@@barryfrombarnsley2790Rather pay Apple that nickel and diming Garmin
We just had a family member use the in-reach to get help for a fallen hiker… saved her life. Essential for adventurers. If this works as advertised, this is a great leap forward.
I do some camping and some gravel bike events, and often lose cellphone signal. I carry my cellphone already and for those times in an emergency the phone satellite communication would be ideal, even if I turned it on ala carte for events which are maybe 4-5 times a year. I had looked at the garmin in reach and felt the cost was too much and never bothered.
If youre an extreme backwoods hiker or doing the trail divide or such, I imagine it would be hard to replace a dedicated device, at least for the time being.
I was in a motorcycle accident in the mountain last year. No cell service off road in the mountains.
Used my iPhone 14 Pro Max to get help, worked great (minus a few clouds) I also keep my Apple Watch on me so I always have it on me all the time, and it will communicate with the phone.
So I was debating on getting the inreach 2, Messenger, or Zoleo. I am a hunter and often am out of cell range. We used to use the Garmin Rino walkie, gps, and locator. however looks like Garmin phased those out a while back. Rather than spend $300+ on an inreach 2 i could apply that cost to upgrading my iphone 13 pro max to the 16 pro max. I use OnX maps and they work great with or without cell service. Im pretty sure the map apps on cell phones give Lat/Long with or without cell service now. I'm sold!
As you mention Dave, battery life is still quite key here. Having satellite messaging from an iPhone is great (I'd maybe consider switching my Samsung Android to iPhone for this feature, but only when any future service costs are disclosed). For multi-day events or adventures, Garmin InReach etc definitely have the advantage for peace of mind/dependability - critical when you most need it - in an emergency.
Yep, no way you’d rely on a phone while on a backcountry ski trip, for example.
You will need a way to charge both devices in most cases. A small battery bank can easily get you a few days of additional life when in power saving modes.
Carrying an extra battery with your iPhone would stil be a better deal
I don’t find it a problem. It’s cheap to buy a large battery for your phone and watch. They’re small and don’t weigh much either, so carrying it isn’t a problem. As far as charges go, it’s been free so far and Apple hasn’t given a date as to when (or even if!), or how much it would cost. So it’s free now and Apple tends to give plenty of notice if they plan to charge definitely anytime.
If you really need it and the phone breaks, you are dead. Also, iPhone satelite works like in 10 countries around the world.
Waited to upgrade my phone to the 15 from the 12 for this feature and save the cost on a Garmin. Offset one against the other, one device to do it all. Perfect. But yes, I get why people would want both as “all eggs in one basket” comes to mind.
I think this will cause some serious reevaluation of rates, for stand-alone GPS devices to remain relevant on a larger scale. Also, I heard Apple is limiting satellite text messages to 140 characters per message. You can also text / share your location coordinates, battery status, etc. This is a game changer for iPhone.
I had been looking at the Garmin In Reach range because I have been doing longer hikes and wanted additional security. I’ll just wait and upgrade my older iPhone model to a compatible one.
I was waiting to hear what it cost and am surprised it’s free. It’s a great feature, though you still have to worry about battery life, so do you end up carrying a spare battery for the phone (but were you doing that anyway…). Can’t be good news for the garmin in any case.
Will there be any tracking so if something did happen I can be tracked to a 10min walking area like the In reach? Battery life is an issue, carry a spare but wet connection, slow wireless etc. Can you text with big gloves on in -5C on a Scottish mountain like last week? Its a nice extra feature to have for a majority of people but wont replace my admittedly expensive In reach subscription yet, what price do you put on life??
I bought my buddy's InReach Mini recently and have turned the subscription on and off a couple times already. Will be interested to see what comes of this - though I'm skeptical about it remaining free. Ultimately if I do more deep backcountry stuff I probably will be happy to stick with the InReach but we'll see.
This will be great for off-roading in remote areas.
Great feature, but can someone answer this question. If you need to point your device and find a satellite to send a message. Doesn't that mean that the same has to be done to receive a reply also. Seems that you would have to keep that phone in the same position and hope that the person replies asap. Or am I missing something here. Unlike the Garmin inReach the device does not need to be pointed in a particular direction so I would receive my messages as they come in. Would love not to pay for a gamin subscription but that seems to be a big difference in how the devices operate.
I think the other big difference is the ruggedization of the satellite communication devices. I have both the iPhone and Garmin inReach, but I trust the Garmin way more than my iPhone. It's pretty easy to break a phone in the backcountry or have you ever tried using a touchscreen in the rain. I like that I can basically throw the Garmin down a cliff and it will still work, and the physical buttons can be used in any weather.
The important factor would be the which regions would be covered as initially when they rolled out the satellite SOS feature it was only available in US and Canada. and it is still not available in the region were I live so I think Garmin and Moto wont be going away anytime soon.
Yeah, still a lot of countries that can’t use this iPhone feature. Also, an inReach is much more robust than an iPhone, and the battery time is much better. I use a Garmin 66i, so I have the inReach function, and also maps for navigation. It’s a great device.
Been saying that for awhile it was coming to this. But doesn’t make it obsolete for mountaineering expeditions and longer battery life where a phone in environments not going to survive . Like the 67i, I’ll have a vid on it soon
Regarding battery life, if you were worried about it, some pretty small battery banks are available, some even part of an existing device, like a flashlight. That would make a nice backup.
I have an inReach, I use an Iridium Sat Phone, I have an iPhone. Neither replaces each other for their intended roles.
Also the Iridium satellite constellation network has almost 100% worldwide coverage. I will add that I do synch my iPhone with my InReach.
Thanks for the info, I personally did buy and Apple just for the SOS capabilities, my first Apple. Not happy with the overall Apple experience, but the peace of mind the SOS adds is worth the Apple pain is the tush way of doing things. This new feature will be great if it is not to costly, as I spend a lot of time outside of any cellular service.
When I am out on the trail, I can get out the InReach, send a check-in with a few button presses, and put it away immediately. The message will send in the next minute or 2 without having to point in a particular direction. Will you have to aim the iPhone to check for new received messages? I think it is a step in the right direction, but not going to work for everyone right now. Starlink is also developing direct-to-cell satellites. The need for a device like InReach may diminish, but will be around for a while.
Very interesting
Battery life is a big difference but is the subscription cost of the InReach really worth the difference? You can just carry a battery pack.
I would just turn off my iPhone because it uses a lot of power trying to find cell towers. That could increase battery life by days. When I need my iPhone for an emergency or to upload to CZcams (if you’ve got a 5G signal), I could turn it on. I think you could really extend the battery by a lot.
Remember that iphone also has a subscription after some years
@@SkepticalRaptoryea my 15 pro max lasts like 4-5 days on airplane mode in the bush. Only activating data when I know I’m in a service spot.
And that’s with using the camera/offline maps/even some music here and there.
The battery is really good when you’re not scrolling instagram for 10 hours on 5G lol
@@shlonk Yeah, there are a lot of things one can do to increase battery life that aren't going to have a material impact on the usefulness of the iPhone on the PCT or CDT or anywhere. And I'm one of those people who thinks if you can minimize the number of devices, the better off everyone is. No one is thru hiking carrying a huge Canon camera with three lenses, they're just carrying their iPhone to catch photos of bears on the trail.
@@shimona500 You know that how? Are you Tim Cook's partner? Because Apple hasn't said anything and the SOS feature has been out for almost two years. It's still free. If you've heard something verifiable, please share because we're all dying to know.
Curious about the SOS feature. Having just used the SOS feature on my inreach, I was so grateful how it worked to help an injured hiker. With the message feature, will it give the person you send a message to the exact GPS location to them like the inreach does?
Total game changer!! Amazing that it’s via iOS update and not withholding it for the new iPhone.
It is only for 14 and up.
@@Sincerely903 and only in USA, I found out. Useless to me in Canada.
Not getting rid of inreach…yet at least. Riding adventure motorcycles off grid, I may be injured and unable to move around searching for satellites (or could I 🤷🏼♂️). Now that it has the text feature, next time in the middle of nowhere, I will test and see how intuitive it is. Can I locate service while laying on the ground for instance if I had a broken leg etc. Thanks for the information. Great video.
... Also, Inreach gives you bread crumbs, it lasts for up to 15 days without worrying about charging. For those of us who travel off the grid -- its super important that we need the security of uptime... You mentioned many of the benefits... Not quite replaceable without aiming.
How often have you used your InReach Dave?
I used to carry it religiously on just about every trip. Moreso in winter months when I'd hike or ice climb solo or with a single partner in avalanche terrain. What's funny is 5-6 years ago it was almost an essential in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where I typically recreate. These days though, cell phone service has gotten so much better to the point where I can make a call from just about anywhere in my local hills without worrying too much about service. If I'm planning something epic I'll still carry the InReach though (and usually just leave it off).
This will change the way I go places. It’s going to be one hell of an adventure. I knew this is coming 5 years ago. This is one thing I like about iphone, since they rolled out iphone 10, I have noticed the gps is getting clearer every time they roll out a new iphone. This will help me with my work in the bush specially in winter time.
Long time inReach user while off grid for backpacking and camping.
I am very excited to see this feature come to my iPhone, but the single unanswered question/thing to consider…the SAR insurance plan is a great $30 peace of mind to have…
Is there a bill for SAR if you request it on an iPhone?
Look into what area you're going to and if they have free search and rescue. Idaho is all free SAR as long as you didn't purposely get lost. I believe a lot of west coast USA is free. Garmin selling snake oil to some customers in free areas.
Even if they have to airlift you out with a helicopter? Somehow I doubt it would be free.
my company actually sold that as a possible health insurance addon. I did buy it one year when doing some multi week hiking in remote areas.
@@Kaiser333333 I live by the ocean and people get rescued by helicopter all the time by the coast guard and I've never heard of people getting charged for it. They also don't charge to rescue you off a mountain. It's mostly volunteer workers.
You're only liable if you're breaking the law being there or you are blatantly making bad choices with intent to get rescued.
As you mentioned, two of the most important uses for In-Reach are the tracking capabilities and the weather (as well as the emergency feature which Apple already has). Both of those would not be as good if you had to take out your phone and point it at a satellite (even if it could do that). Also having a separate device with a much longer battery life would be important for most back country hikers (or seafarers). On the other hand, most occasional hikers/trail runners don't have an In-Reach and this will be a great new feature. I suspect it might need a change to the monthly plans on the alternatives, but there is a degrading lifetime to these satellite networks anyways, isn't there? BTW, Dave, killer content on WWDC, that's three videos already, and you are not even out there. Can't wait until you install the new software 😊.
What about receiving messages when in an area without service. Do you just get them randomly when you cross into a satellite area?
If it works like the SOS feature you would need to keep the phone aimed in a position towards the satellite to keep the connection established for 2-way communication to work. I suppose that's another question that needs to be answered!
Maybe I completely missed it, but is this feature actually available all over the world? As far as I remember last year it was only available for USA-Canada-AUS..
Keep up the good job!l💪🏽 I’m considering your reviews before every single hike tech related purchase I make 😅
As of now it's going to launch in the USA and then expand over time similar to the SOS feature launched last year. SOS is available in 16 countries so I'd assume the same countries will get this but time will tell!
Will it be able to track bread crumbs via satellite as well? Then you could use it for FKT attempts as well which would be amazing
It definitely won't kill the InReach and the like. It would surely dent sales.
If I were out for the day with this feature, I'd likely leave the inreach at home. If I were out on a 7 day hike, I'd have a phone with this feature plus an inreach. On my last 6 day hike, i didn't even recharge the inreach mini.
However it seems you cannot download GRIB weather files over satellite on iPhone, but you can on inreach. Would be perfect if they add this as well. As a sailor this is a necessity.
The Garmin inReach devices still have higher gain antennas (and therefore don't need to be pointed at satellites to transmit/receive). Higher gain antennas could be a hardware discrepancy which keeps satellite communications on iOS from being able to do features like live-tracking and emergency weather updates (both of which involve the device communicating in the background and therefore not pointed at a satellite).
We've seen wilderness go from zero coverage of any kind around here, to Spot and Inreach, to semi-unified cell coverage with US-Canada which puts wilderness trails here in touch with cell service as we are along the border. I have an Inreach new in the box I got on sale 3 years ago - I better sell it asap. I guess my Spot is worthless.
I'd expect this feature to eat into Garmin sales, but not sure if it's enough to kill it. I don't have an InReach but if I was thruhiking or doing similar stuff I'd get one. It's of course not necessary (thruhiked the AT and PCT before InReach (and before GPS and smartphones)) but one great feature of the InReach is that it seems almost bulletproof. Take a look at some AT or PCT thruhiking videos and it seems almost a standard feature now, and many hikers have the InReach on the backpack harness easily accessible, but also extremely exposed. I'd never keep my phone in that position when also relying on it for navigation, planning and photo/videos and that could make a huge difference in a life-threatening situation.
Sometime back while traveling through a sparsely populated very rural area I had cell service but was "not allowed' to make a call and I now have learned that cell phone companies can, will and do restrict cellular service for the general public to prioritize service to authority. Allowing emergency and limited satellite cellular service could be a huge benefit without the tremendous expenses of a satellite phone and associated service plan. Wasn't Tmobile going to add some level of satellite service? This sounds like a reality changer to me... TELL ME MORE!!!
You sir, are on a roll
I had an inReach Mini, and the subscription costs were complicated and costly for infrequent users, like me. Even to pause the monthly charge, I still had to pay an annual fee.
How were they complicated and costly? They lay everything out very clearly. You press a button and the subscriptions changes. Couldn’t be simpler?
@@rbrdly That was my experience. If you had a different experience, super.
This is a big game changer for sure. I've always been an android user but spend a lot of time offroading and hiking in the mountains. Depending on how this works out I might switch
Don't know about your experience but my iphone 13 mini, once it get's cold it can surprisingly eat up the battery and shut down. Would not rellay on a sos device that does this. But for sure for the occasional user, and depending on the price could be interesting
Just used it yesterday. Only problem is they won’t send a message to a group chat and everyone has to run iOS 18 for it to go through. You can’t send satelite messages to non 18 iOS so far.
Not yet
The InReach allows me to share my track and position every 5 minutes with anyone while I’m out touring. They still have something to offer.
I will continue to use my iPhones and Garmin inReach. I also bring batteries for primarily charging the iPhones.
Tje Google Pixel 9 coming out this fall will have a satellite communicator too.
I tried this out multiple times last weekend. It worked well enough for my needs. Sending messages took maybe 30seconds to a minute. I wasn’t timing it. It didn’t seem to have any real effect on battery life. The message I received back and others received from me didn’t have any kind of indication they were sent over satellite. I did manually check for incoming messages for after I was done sending I would turn off the satellite feature until I wanted to check.
Does this work in Australia, often we are just left behind in new features
no, US only
Great video! Right direction apple is heading, hope they can extend the services beyond the 16 countries, and the offline trail maps to the rest of the world.
Would love to see an X phone with some cool features like these on. Starlink phones would be a game changer.
How long do you think it will take to push out an iOS update with features like weather?
Once they are leveraging satellite for data/apps that will be a whole different story! Imagine apps that allow live tracking but over satellite, or weather updates. At that point, Inreach would have a tough competition particularly if apple takes this globally.
Will Starlink Direct to Cell whichl allows any LTE/5G phone to send text / voice make Garmin inReach and iPhone specific Satellite Messaging redundant?
Time will tell!
It may convert the weekend warrior or trail walkers but for true expeditions having a dedicated device is still best. I can see, in the future , needing to register with Apple pay and getting charge 20c per message or similar, which, if using for emergency is perfectly reasonable
The problem is there aren’t enough expedition users to keep this service afloat for Garmin. There are people who will still need a Garmin. The vast majority of people do not. I’m canceling my plan before it renews in August.
So this is iPhone 15 and newer, correct?
Works on iPhone 14 as well.
@@ChaseTheSummit oh nice!
I don’t think this kills inreach at all, I think this just kills inreach messages. I can just use the basic SOS and weather features on inreach and leave all the messaging to my iPhone.
While I am super excited for the IOS 18 features, I'll be keeping my InReach. The battery life is amazing, it is rough and tumble - able to take a beating I think it still has a place on my outdoor carry. With that said, I would love to see Garmin see some pressure and lower their subscription price to remain competitive on that front.
We will probably find out more when the new phones are released
The critical point is whether this feature will be specific to North America or available globally. Another important issue with this is that which satillite will it be using. We know Garmin uses Iridium satillite system, which has global coverage and is more suited to hardcore adventurers who come to Himalayas, Karakorams and Hindukush. I hope anyone has any answers on this?
You know what would be really cool? If phone companies put a low power reflective display on the back side of phones and then you could put it in some kind of low power mode where the main screen on the front side is turned off and the reflective display had garmin like functionality.
If my life or a loved ones life is dependent on a gps emergency beacon, they’re practically priceless regardless of how many connectivity options a smartphone has. A phone barely lasts an entire day when it constantly searches for signal and slightly longer on airplane mode. If you’re going on multiple day hikes then a smartphone is not going to cut it.
Tbh the garmin is still massively more cost effective if you're like me and don't like to buy into the incredibly saturated mobile phone market. An inreach and a low end or dumbphone is still half the price of an iPhone 15, and I don't have to bring it onto the trail (which is the whole point of getting out for me anyway).
The live tracking and the long battery life does justify my continued Inreach subscription. If I was thinking of buying one, the answer might be different.
In theory it’s a good update, but in practice the Garmin will be better. The iPhone needs to be pointed at the satellite exactly, Garmin will do it for you, it can just hang off your bag. It’s more rugged, less prone to break, and the Garmin has way better battery life, so the Garmin is a device you can rely on in outdoor situations, and the iPhone is more a last resort kinda tool. It’s nice to have, not to rely on.
You would need a destruction-proof case, then maybe in many years InReach can be replaced. But it is heading there for sure.
At a minimum Garmin needs to drop or greatly reduce the annual fee for my inReach just sitting idle. I already have the device but I rarely turn on the subscription.
So this is a game changer for me. I'm a very happy S23 Ultra user but the ability to use Satellite without a 3rd party device is key. Just imagine you could share your location via a simple message for easy check-ins . I guess it could be automated in an app for 30min check-ins as not to hit the bandwidth too much .. Anything you can share over iMessage or text becomes satellite enabled. This is a killer feature !
What about travel and you want a simple message device and don't need to pay for a data plan or another SIM and don't have to pay extortionate roaming fees ?
Looks like its time to switch back to an iPhone !
Samsung doesn’t have that
InReach will still be useful in more extreme conditions. I can take the inReach (in an additional case) underwater 100m. Taking the iPhone to 100m would be a pain in the ass
I can't see them ever charging for the SOS feature. That would be a PR disaster as soon as someone needs it and can't use it because their subscription lapsed. The messaging though, that could very well require something like an Apple One or Fitness+ subscription.
Yeah i think the messages will be part of Apple one
Good for many. I would not change my InReach for an iPhone, even when you pay for it.
The Garmin's dive housing is still a pro. I can bring it with me on a boat dive and if the boat happens to have left me when I surface I can get help. Not sure I'd be able to use my iPhone bobbing on the ocean. That damn subscription model though. 🙁
I’ll keep carrying both. Two is one, one is none.
Also the insurance for back country evac is worth the $20.
I will be holding out for T-Mobile's version... I'm also a Mini 2 guy...
I´m not an Iphone user, so not changing my mind that the inreach is the better option. But the fact that you have just the need to press a button to initiate the SOS assistance, rather than going to different steps to try to get the Iphone in line with a satelite, and the fact that battery in the inreach will last for days, rather than the Iphone, still is a universe of difference to me to keep the inreach.
My thoughts exactly. When you’re in trouble, you need a device that is very easy to operate. You may be hurt, unable to move too much, and with an inReach you just have to push the button.
iPhone is great if conditions allow you to use it, ie heavy rain or snow, or even in water, or are you badly injured or have visual issues. iPhone battery life is also poor. With the inreach all you have to do is press the waterproof sos button to hopefully get help.
for emergencies only i always will carry at least 2 separate devices. Imagine you have only 1 device and if that fails. Stick with PACE plan:
Primary Comms
Alternate Coms
Contingency Comms
Emergency Comms
The point I'm trying to make is that Something > Nothing. Most "weekend warrior" types are not paying for a satellite communicator to go on a few hikes per year. If that same person had an iPhone in their pocket and was able to send/receive messages it's a game changer and gives the communication they would otherwise not have. Garmin InReach devices are awesome but only the most hardcore outdoors person is going to carry one.
If you are using your inreach for casual messaging while out in the backcountry, the Apple IOS 18 will be fine. However, in an SOS situation, I'd rely on a Garmin. The hardware is purpose-built to be tough and has a long-running battery. If you hit the SOS on a Garmin you get their full-on Emergency Response Center, which works with you and local resources to get you rescued.
Relying on this from your iPhone makes having a great protective case EXPONENTIALLY more important. Just throwing that out there.
For sure!
Cost for sending txts from iphone via Satellites? No way is this going to be free - on any Satellite service. Maybe an addon cost via icloud subscription(s)?
Time will tell!
keeping inreach for the reasons up you mentioned. it is also durable, the iphone is not.
I hope Garmin the the competition they need for the expensive unflexible subscriptions.
Well Apple taking out another Garmin device (gps device) if not now could be sooner