Technology keeps moving us forward in ways that allow us to be connected from most places on the globe to our loved ones. This is not just good for instagram snaps but also for situations of safety. As someone who does a lot of solo travel, here is why I find the Apple Watch Series 4 and Google Fi to be great companions.
Read: Impressions of the Apple Watch Series 4 from a Garmin Fan
Why the Apple Watch Series 4 and Google Fi are Great International Travel Companions
One of the new features for the Apple Watch Series 4 was fall detection. While this may invoke memories of the old commercials of “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” – and there certainly were plenty of that on social media – it is not just for elderly people.
As a runner, there are times that I have taken some spills, even a couple of very nasty ones. One recent one almost face planted me when my feet got tangled in some metal rings. Thanks to my Apple Watch Series 4, that fall would have triggered a call to my wife and emergency services had I been knocked unconscious.
The Apple Watch Series 4 fall detection feature is more than just a safety feature for runners, though. For anyone that travels alone, it is a great way to ensure that your loved one will be able to be notified (as well as emergency services) if you fall hard enough to be injured. This can include situations if someone were to mug you or something as simple as tripping going down stairs.
How the Apple Watch Series 4 Fall Detection Feature Works
The way Apple Watch Series 4 fall detection works is that it will give you an alert when it identifies a hard fall and you have 15 seconds to either continue with the emergency call or to cancel it. Once the call is made, it will let local emergency services know that you have suffered a hard fall and give your coordinates to them.
Once this is done, it will send an alert to your emergency contact that a call has been made and that you have fallen, as well as showing your location.
(to see how to set up fall detection for your Apple Watch Series 4, visit this page here.)
Why Google Fi is a Great Companion for the Apple Watch Series 4
If you are an Apple Watch Series 4 owner, I am making the almost-certain assumption that you have an iPhone. Up until last November, if you were traveling abroad, you would either have to have a local SIM or your home SIM capable of operating internationally for this fall detection feature to work in a foreign country (to make the call out).
Many people, including myself, did use Google Fi data-only SIM cards but this would not have worked natively since it was not possible to make phone calls through it.
Now Available!
Now that Google Fi is officially for iPhone, it means you can put that Google Fi SIM in your iPhone and have all your regular phone features (SMS, phone calls, internet) available natively through Google Fi – anywhere in the world.
For the cost of peace of mind, this could be yet one more reason to get a Google Fi account, even if you only use it while traveling abroad (you can suspend your Google Fi service very easily).
Going forward, this just makes Google Fi one more important piece of travel tech with me as I can more fully use the features of my Apple Watch Series 4.
