I was so excited about this feature, but not being able to communicate in a non-emergency way via satellite makes the inReach still important to have. The inReach being able to send "made it to camp" type messages is huge for me.
You could still share your location via find my, which obviously isn't completely the same but is "better than nothing". Still not comparable to the inReach devices but so what. The huge advantage is: Everyone with an iPhone 14 and higher has this very important safety feature. That will definitely help save lifes. Many people don't have Garmin inReach devices and even less take them with them. And even less take them with them for "normal" hikes, even though you often don't even have mobile reception there either. More "convenience" features such as FindMy will probably follow in the future.
I thought the same thing. I did a lot of solo mountain biking, hiking, backpacking while my wife was pregnant. Her being able to track me gave her lots of relief from worry, and being able to text “ chain broke, walking out, going to be very late” saves her worrying all night. Edit: we are in Taiwan right now, I see it only works in a few countries, so I guess keeping the inreach
I watched a youtube report of hiking Mt. Whitney. The group ascended from the parking lot few hours before daylight for few miles, ran into a group of stranded returning hikers with a disabled partner. The ascending hikers used InReach to send SOS. The stranded group had a satellite SOS device requiring the support of a phone; but the phone AND the backup battery charger both fully drained! It took more than 6 hours till the rescue arrived while the helping group continued communicating on InReach! Together they carried the disabled hiker down to a location the rescuing helicopter could land. Lesson: the SOS communication may take a long time. Not every gadget has the long endurance as InReach has.
Wow! This video must have taken you MANY, MANY hours/days to research for us. You contacted many organizations and studied lots of technical data. Much Appreciated.
I just ordered the iPhone 15 (10/20/23) and I went looking for information about the satellite features. This was a very Informative, thorough review. Just what I was looking for. Thank you.
WOW❗️This is a 5 Stars Review❗️I think it shows when a TH-camr do it with compassion. I am amaze about all the details you provide us. Bravo Hiking Guy❗️
A great comprehensive review of these. I'm a motorcyclist and a boater. I have an inReach mini 2 already, but I'm also waist-deep in the Apple stuff (typing this on a iMac, with an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch within 3 feet) so this appeals to me. Especially the crash detection feature of the watch and then using the sat aspect of the phone if a crash is detected. Makes solo riding a little safer.
I have been waiting for this specific presentation from you. This is a high quality, thorough presentation, like your others. You are suburb with hiking, TH-cam presenting, and research. I look forward to all your channel presentations. Thank you very much for your time. You are greatly appreciated.
Whoa thank you very much! 🙏 Trying to focus on guides and tech that will help folks on their adventures, so it's nice to here that these help. Thank you!
21:22 People absolutely use 911 frivolously. Me, my daughter and several friends and family are first responders. However, that 5% of serious calls I’m really glad they called.
I agree with IPv6Freely: emergencies are critical but - thankfully - rare; but, the need to contact people to tell them about your situation ("arrived", "getting there late", etc) is very important. So, inReach still has the nod for me for the moment. Also, its "purpose built" form is very influential to me - especially battery life! And, let me not forget: this is a great review!!
The inreach connects to a team of professionals, the Apple team is being assembled now not something I would trust . The mini clips to your back and obviously a weather proof device. iPhones maybe, maybe not especially if you happen to tumble down the side of a mountain or drop into 35 degree water . How good would that iPhone be then . I’ve seen plenty of professional hikers and video hiking bloggers and almost to the person they have an inreach clipped to their shoulder straps .
Very cool article. This just motivated me enough to upgrade from the 13 pro max to the 15 pro max as of Sept 2023. Now, I see they've added 'Roadside assistance' to the satellite functionality. The inReach seems like another great option to take safety & security to another level. Their basic service is very reasonably priced.
Dude. I found your website yesterday when trying to understand about GPS (nav, watches, satellite, and PLB) devices. I read several articles on the website and today I'm watching numerous videos. I'm blown away by the thoroughness of your reviews. I've never owned GPS navigation, watch, satellite or PLB communicator devices (other than Google Maps and testing out GaiaGPS over the last week)... so you helped me go from zero knowledge to quite a lot of knowledge very very quickly. What an immense help. I feel like I know exactly what to expect if I were to purchase a given device (pros & cons). This has rapidly helped me narrow down what I thought I might want to more appropriate choices. Big time props and THANK YOU so much for putting all of this information together to help others.
Wow, man, big big thank your for the note. It's music to my ears that the guides have been helpful. I'm in the process of coming up with some beginner focused guides now because I think it could help more folks. Thanks again and hope to see you out there one day.
Thanks! You have been so helpful in the last few months to understand better the in reach system. Just bought a 67i. Wish you a great time over these holidays.
Excellent video as always. I love my inreach and most definitely will gladly keep paying my annual susbcription and wilk continue using it during my hikes. The durability and sturdiness of the inreach as well as the reliability of their center of operations is what is all about. Thank you so much for such great review.
My gut feeling is if you already have a viable phone, it might be cheaper overall to buy the In-Reach. If you need a new phone anyway, then it might make sense to consider the iPhone. Thanks for helping me think this through.
Great video, Just picked up an iPhone 14 and tried out the Find my phone app several times here in The Highlands of Scotland. Works really well. Tells the other people in your group that you have used satellite if they look. Handy to have as its essentially free.
Great review! I just got an iPhone 14 and I did not know this. I was a SAR member 30 years ago and I remember the many stories which didn’t end well, this technology is definitely a great step forward to help people and searchers will have vital information that they need right away. One of the cons with the iPhone is the battery and to counter that bring a battery bank as a back up. You mentioned trying this is a narrow canyon by Las Vegas and I’m thinking “Ice Box Canyon” if so that is very impressive
Well thanks for serving as a SAR member - I know it's a challenging job with risk. And yes, Ice Box was the one. Before going in there I didn't think that anything would really work so I was surprised by the 1min send on the iPhone. Blows my mind sometimes.
Thanks for this! I'm somebody that really would only use this in an emergency situation. I was recently looking at the Garmins but man - not cheap. I'd also been semi-interested in upgrading my phone. For the cost of paying off my current contract for the 12 Pro, going up to the 14, I'm actually saving a bit. Thanks again for the awesome information!
Thank you for the information in this video I have an i phone 14 but didn’t really know how the satellite part of this phone worked. I am new to i phone. Your video was very helpful. I also didn’t know about the other device as a comparison good info Thanks!
Got the Garmin Messenger (feedback after 6 months). Amazing! Reliable! Get quick connection. Perfectly compatible with Fenix. Great piece from Garmin. I hope the compatibility will be extended to other devices (Venu 3).
InReach is a far superior communication solution. It’s no contest really. Better connectivity, better battery life (by FAR), two-way communication, far more robust and experienced emergency communications centre and staff.
Solid comparison video and, for me, a good understanding of the iPhone capabilities versus the inReach Mini 2 that I already have. I use Android phones, which will be adding this capability in the upcoming OS release. Thanks for making this video!
Nice comparison. One thing you didn’t mention was that Garmin offers an insurance plan that covers the cost of rescue worldwide. This can get expensive if you have to get a medivac via helicopter or other means, to a hospital or back to your home country.
Nice review.. I just upgraded two family members to 14’s. I’ll continue to use my Garmin Inreach mini for now. Edit: during the recent severe storms in the NE of the 🇺🇸, I read where as many as 27 people died in their cars, when stranded. Imagine having had an iPhone 14 to prevent that. I get that most people in those situations would never own a PLB so a phone would have been a lifesaver.
Very good video on comparing these valuable communication systems. The inReach carried along with iPhone 14 would be ideal - as having a backup system is worth having. Thank you for sharing !!
Thanks for a great review, I never knew Apple had brought this in until i saw an article that Samsung will probably do it on the next Galaxy Ultra. It's not something I'd use often but always handy to have.
Thank you, you presented a really great review. There is definitely a big difference between an Iridium / InReach and Globalstar systems. Hard core adventurer vs urban area users is a clear distinction for me.
A word on Garmin InReach pricing - you can turn your subscription on and off at will. You do have to pay for a month at a time, but you can wait until you are going out the first time in the season, and turn it on. Then turn it off again if June is going to be too busy, then wait and maybe your next trip out isn't until late July, hit it again. So for less frequent users (like me, whose job prevents weekly trips), a year's worth of use may only cost you three or four months worth of service as long as you remember to turn it off. Personally, I've always turned it on, then turned it off right away because it continues for the month you paid for. Then I just check it each time I'm going to be using it to see if it's still subscribed through the duration of the trip (plus a safety day or two)
Excellent presentation. Something we maybe should bear in mind is the relative transmitter power of these devices. This info could be out of date by now, but the reason I carry a PLB as well as an Inreach is that the transmitter on my Inreach is 0.5 Watts, whereas the PLB is 5 Watts which makes it 10x more powerful. I know that when I have been in the heavily wooded areas and deep gullies of the Blue Mountains in Australia, the Inreach doesn't always get a satellite fix, hence I carry the PLB as emergency backup. I would be interested to know the power of the iphone 14 transmitter in this regard.
Yea I looked for the transmit power but Apple is usually tight-lipped about hard specs - I think it's using the Qualcomm X65 modem but couldn't find any specs that I could compare to a PLB, etc.
You are the best reviewer and teacher for the outdoors hiking exploring. As a prior Sierra Mountain Guide I know how knowledgeable you are how thorough how objective and realistic your advice is. Keep up the good work and TY!
I purchased a Garmin Tread Overland for the GPS & InReach functionality, and when my phone was giving out I upgraded to the iPhone 14 for the additional GPS feature.
I have my old iPhone 11 Pro Max. I also am a sailor and sometimes go on “epic” sailing vacations where we charter a bit 45 foot Catamaran in various locations around the world. Because of my sailing hobby about four years ago I bought the Garmin InReach Explorer+. I have paid a monthly fee of around $45 since then. I have rarely used it, pretty much only for an occasional text, or test message. I have never used it for an emergency. But it’s insurance to me. I value feeling safe, particularly now that I’m married and have my wife to protect. One more thing. I don’t always have the Garmin unit with me. We have a sailboat where we live locally and often go out for a day sail off of the California coast on the Pacific ocean (or even for a multi day trip to Catalina Island a handful of times a year). I have found during these times that we sometimes find ourselves out of cell phone range. So my wife and I agreed a few days ago that we are going to upgrade our iPhones to the latest 14 models. If we can have that satellite link no matter where we are, why not have it with us at all times?
Incredibly comprehensive video. Thanks so much. Just a super minor addendum though, "watching videos" aren't actually as intensive as most people expect, it's such a common use case that there's significant portions of the overall hardware dedicated to video encode/decode, which makes those operations rather efficient. Heavy use of the cellular radios in low reception areas would definitely consume more power than video consumption, so I suspect Emergency SOS via satellite is probably several times more expensive than video playback.
Very good presentation. I have a Mcmurdo 406 which costs about $250 but does not need a service plan. It’s a one time use emergency beacon that also works worldwide. I think I’ll get the iPhone 14 to compliment it as you suggested. The Mcmurdo is rugged, transmits a couple of days, has a strobe, but you cannot advise the nature of your emergency. Thanks again for your informative video.
Excellent & very informative video. Yes, I've given it a thumbs up, Yes, I'm a longtime subscriber. My primary navigation tool is the Garmin 62S GPS that I ALWAYS have with me when out in the boonies. My last ditch, Life or Death communicator is a PLB, specifically, the ACR ResQLink. Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada.
Thank you for the knowledgeable reviews on these products in a rapidly changing market. Helped me see that both the Iphone14 and Inreach are important to have in the backcountry. Made the Garmin purchase through your links to cement my gratitude!
Super good review and comparison! I'm an android user, probably won't switch to Apple. I'll stick with my inReach Mini 2 and basic annual plan. The Apple is a good option though for loyal users.
We built the Global Star sat system back in the late 90s, under the name Space System Loral. But actually it was built in Italy and launched by the Soyuz rockets to space. It went bankrupt 2 years later, after when online. Couldn't generate enough money even to break even for the cost to keep it to operate. It was sold for pennies for the military, just like Iridium, the Motorola sat system. Global Star was designed to work anywhere on Earth, except the N & S polls.
Chip manufacturer Qualcomm have joined up with Iridium & a new company called Snapdragon Satellite was set up. The sat communication service has already been taken up by 17 device manufacturers that develop android phones. Meaning that not only will phones have also emergency sat communication, it will be ran on the Iridium network which allows global coverage. If that isn't cool enough, the messaging service allows you to communicate with anyone & won't limit you to just emergency services.
The Starlink T-Mobile style comms are starting to spread to others like AT&T with AST Spacemobile. And it probably will be easier to connect and more reliable because it uses existing cellular frequencies and the phone thinks you’re on a tower. Can’t wait to see this action.
You can dial 112 anywhere in the world and you’ll be connected to emergency service in that country. GSM phones only (ie most phones on the planet). This is part of the GSM standard and all the ‘dial emergency services’ button is doing is dialling 112. All carriers are required to carry an emergency call everywhere in the world - again, part of the GSM standard. You don’t need a SIM card to make an emergency call. In many countries, regulations force mobile cos to have a completely separate band to carry emergency calls (usually a lower frequency band) on the network.
I have a SPOT X that I use out in the SoCal deserts and most of the reliability issues have been fixed. They put out a series of updates and now I can send a text in less than 5 minutes when it used to be 30+ minutes or not at all.
Thanks for the great review of the two devices. I used the inreach for part of the JMT and was able to let my wife know we were ending the hike, no emergency and within ½ of arriving in Lone Pine my wife came from the OC to pick us up. It was a bit laborious in sending non preset messages but it worked great even in tree cover. sold it this year and planning on finishing the rest of the JMT and will buy a 14 pro and hopefully not need to use it. Thanks again and REALLY enjoy your videos.
Thank you 👍 for watching and glad the inReach worked well for you. Aside for some long / failed sends (rare) it's been pretty rock solid here over the years - wish they would offer a Blackberry / SPOT version with a full keyboard, I think folks who don't want to use the phone / BT would buy it
Fantastic demo’s and comparison. Just received a Garmin mini2 having zero idea about the iPhone 14 feature. Which I happen to own. This video answered more than all my questions. Thank you. Doing regular road trips to the north west coast and planning an Alaska trip realized on the Verizon map the abundance of dead zones could be dangerous. Hearing banjo Deliverance (movie if you don’t know should be the soundtrack for SOS devices 😅) music every time I think of driving through the mountains of no cell service risking a what if. Since I provide a map of stops to people before I leave and text screen shots of where’s me like Waldo periodically from google maps this is a secondary check in preset up. Based on your information for me the Garmin mini 2 isn’t necessary. My son does a lot of outdoor back woods no tech outings with friends. Sent him the video to use for comparison, too. Super appreciate this video comparison very much ❤
Awesome glad it was helpful and have fun in Alaska - one of the best places ever. Hoping to get back up there at some point. It's been a while for me...
Greetings from Brazil. This satellite communication feature was most likely suggested by a pilot of an airplane that crashed in the Amazon jungle and in 2021 was missing for 36 days in a remote part of the jungle. His name is Antônio Araújo de Sena, he was piloting a Cessna 210 and after he managed to be rescued, he published a book and was interviewed by several newspapers, including The New York Times. He said in his interviews that he sent suggestions to Apple because, even in the jungle, he had a GPS signal, but he had no way of sending an SOS request. He said that he figured if he could send a message back showing where he was, he could be rescued. I think Apple took advantage of his suggestion.
@@REAL-UNKNOWN-SHINOBI But GPS coordinates don't matter if you can't tell anybody where those coordinates are. That's the point he was trying to make. If you're injured severely, or you can't send any messages... Then having GPS coordinates is useless. BUT having this technology built into cellular devices, is a game changer. It means that people can send messages through GPS to get help.
Not available in Australia or NZ as of Jan 2023. 😢 I was just about to pull the pin on upgrading from my trusty 6S to the 14, but won’t just yet until we have this feature available. I’m not paying A$1400 (that’s base model base memory!) for an iPhone 14 until I can get all its features.
The inReach will also track your hike and update a trail map to allow others to follow you during a hike and notify them by text and email every 10 minutes or less. You do not have to go into satellite mode if your cell is out of cell range which is usually the case. My inReach Explorer+ worked great hiking in Patagonia and out on a cruise ship to Antarctica. If you can afford it, the best combination would be a Garmin inReach Explorer+ and the iPhone 14 Pro. If you want to keep family and friends informed about your whereabouts, including where you are on a map and be able to interact with them, then the inReach Explorer+ would be better. If you are in an emergency situation in North America, then perhaps Apple.
Thanks for the statement, "It's truly amazing". People are so spoiled with tech, and have so little idea and respect for how amazing it is. Yes I look forward to a review when Android offers SOS. According to the hype, it will crush apples.
I think this will be a good thing for sat comm and consumers. Competition is good for business. Garmin needs someone to come along and keep them on their toes. Their new Messenger app is def a step in the right direction. And I think this is also a good thing for apple users. I'm an Android guy and likely always will be, and I don't see myself parting ways with Garmin anytime soon either. Top of my wish list now is a new GPSMAP with USB C. 67sr maybe?
Since you are Android user, congratulations! Qualcomm implemented Iridium network messaging in their Snapdragon chip (the same chips that is in Android phones). Hopefully soon you will be fully text with your phone, Garmin can also stay there :)
@@asht7788 Yes. Samsung is also in talks with Iridium. But I really don't care for texting or communicating while I'm hiking/biking. I go to get away from all that. Inreach suits my needs just fine. I have it purely for emergency only. And 90% of my adventuring is remote and rugged out of cell range, so really won't help me anyway. But this is all good overall for the big picture in Sat/cell comm.
Great content yet again. I worked in Search and Rescue in Australia for a number of years. You mentioned PLBs briefly. Inreach and the newer tech is a great convenience. But for a proper emergency nothing beats a PLB. They are monitored by the SAR authorities for each SAR region around the world. The coverage is excellent and your position is encoded and sent via 406mhz to the rescue satellite/s. If a signal is detected you are in the hands of the government not some private business. The PLBs also operate on 121.5mhz so ground crews and aircraft can use direction finding to locate you. All in all people should carry a PLB first, and then sat communicators for convenience. Cheers, I really enjoy the content. I bought my in reach based on your original article, thanks!
Thank you and thank you for your time in SAR. Agree on the PLB, and I carry one as a backup. The downside of course is the lack of feedback and one-way comm, but they are solid. For years I lived on a sailboat and know that the same tech (EPIRBS) saved many lives. Cheers and happy new year!
All I can add to your detailed reply is that my ACR ResQLink PLB send a strong 5 WATT signal to the satellite, the strongest signal of any PLB, InReach, or Cell phone . YES, the signal goes DIRECTLY to SAR, not to an intermediary. I've been carrying my PLB for 9 years, for that just in case situation where I'm desperate for help & unable to crawl back to the trailhead under my own power. My primary navigation tool is my old reliable Garmin 62S GPS that I always have with me. Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada
Thanks for this. My setup for remote sea-kayaking expeds on the West Coast of Scotland is ordinary mobile for comms, PLB (by Ocean Signal) for dire emergencies and a LW Radio (Sony ICF-SW100) for the shipping weather forecasts from the BBC on Long-Wave. It all works fine, no subscription to InReach👍🏻. About ½ the time we can get a mobile signal (in camp). We have 2 phones on different carriers. So we can use the internet for the forecast and some comms, but as we are ‘away from home’ we tend not to want to communicate as that interferes with the wilderness experience for us, YMMV. When there is no mobile signal in camp we have the PLB for emergencies only and the Radio for the forecast. My only ‘concern’ is the BBC are making noises about turning off the Long-Wave transmission at some point in the future. So I’d have to be looking at using some satellite comms to get the forecast. I’m assuming this is possible now with InReach type devices, but I haven’t investigated properly yet. I use Garmin GPS of various flavours all the time. Many have an InReach built-in option, so that might be an option to reduce the number of gadgets carried. Satellite weather forecast on an iPhone would obviously be very good, if it’s ever an option! I also like the idea of the location tracking message working easily when there is no mobile signal 😎, as mentioned by someone in the Scottish Hills 👍🏻.
The one thing I found annoying on the Garmin inreach mini was trying to send a message, if it wasn't a pre written message. 2 years free is pretty nice, you don't get any free subscription with the Garmin, granted it's 1/4 the price of the iPhone, but then again it's a device you'd buy regardless of the feature. It be cool to see how things progress with both Garmin and Apple.
Thanks for a great video! I'll be interested to see how the iPhone functionality develops. I'm not ready to trade in my Garmin just yet, however. I frequently use the InReach messaging feature to communicate with family and friends when I am hiking or camping in locations without cell service. During a solo hike last spring I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out. (It turned out to be atril fibrillation - AFib) I did not have to activate the SOS feature, but was able to message my husband every 15 minutes to let him know what was happening - and that I was still walking and still okay. It was worth every dollar I've paid to Garmin to be able to do that! Happy New Year!
Happy new gear and glad to hear that the Garmin came in handy. I've used it many times to tell the wife that I'm running late. I'm a big fan of the non-emergency functionality. Guessing it will probably come to the iPhone (with a fee) in the future. 👍
Very timely and thorough video Cris - Thanks. Bought a iPhone 14 just for the additional SOS capability and pack a 3 day battery pack with it. Non emergency 2 way communication on the inReach is still a great deal, especially for use between different groups in the back country. Awesome job - keep up the great work!👍
I have the Gmini2 and an android tablet. Can I pair the two and then put the mini in my pocket and just use the tablet for communicating to home or friends?
I was so excited about this feature, but not being able to communicate in a non-emergency way via satellite makes the inReach still important to have. The inReach being able to send "made it to camp" type messages is huge for me.
Yea, same here, and I'd imagine that at some point (maybe iOS 17?) the iPhone will offer that for a fee. Guessing that they're working it all out now.
You could still share your location via find my, which obviously isn't completely the same but is "better than nothing". Still not comparable to the inReach devices but so what. The huge advantage is: Everyone with an iPhone 14 and higher has this very important safety feature. That will definitely help save lifes. Many people don't have Garmin inReach devices and even less take them with them. And even less take them with them for "normal" hikes, even though you often don't even have mobile reception there either. More "convenience" features such as FindMy will probably follow in the future.
I’m sure such a service is coming, it’s easy money to add it.
Agreed, sos is unlikely or extremely rare, letting my wife know I’ll be late or passed my eta is common
I thought the same thing. I did a lot of solo mountain biking, hiking, backpacking while my wife was pregnant. Her being able to track me gave her lots of relief from worry, and being able to text “ chain broke, walking out, going to be very late” saves her worrying all night. Edit: we are in Taiwan right now, I see it only works in a few countries, so I guess keeping the inreach
I watched a youtube report of hiking Mt. Whitney. The group ascended from the parking lot few hours before daylight for few miles, ran into a group of stranded returning hikers with a disabled partner. The ascending hikers used InReach to send SOS. The stranded group had a satellite SOS device requiring the support of a phone; but the phone AND the backup battery charger both fully drained! It took more than 6 hours till the rescue arrived while the helping group continued communicating on InReach! Together they carried the disabled hiker down to a location the rescuing helicopter could land.
Lesson: the SOS communication may take a long time. Not every gadget has the long endurance as InReach has.
Wow! This video must have taken you MANY, MANY hours/days to research for us. You contacted many organizations and studied lots of technical data. Much Appreciated.
I agree. Most helpful video.
I just ordered the iPhone 15 (10/20/23) and I went looking for information about the satellite features.
This was a very Informative, thorough review.
Just what I was looking for.
Thank you.
Kudos on the interject about being able to reach emergency services on older phones as well and not just the latest models. 👍
WOW❗️This is a 5 Stars Review❗️I think it shows when a TH-camr do it with compassion. I am amaze about all the details you provide us. Bravo Hiking Guy❗️
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A great comprehensive review of these. I'm a motorcyclist and a boater. I have an inReach mini 2 already, but I'm also waist-deep in the Apple stuff (typing this on a iMac, with an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch within 3 feet) so this appeals to me. Especially the crash detection feature of the watch and then using the sat aspect of the phone if a crash is detected. Makes solo riding a little safer.
I have been waiting for this specific presentation from you. This is a high quality, thorough presentation, like your others. You are suburb with hiking, TH-cam presenting, and research. I look forward to all your channel presentations. Thank you very much for your time. You are greatly appreciated.
Whoa thank you very much! 🙏 Trying to focus on guides and tech that will help folks on their adventures, so it's nice to here that these help. Thank you!
I agree with everything youve stated. Its a very professional but easy to understand presentation.
21:22 People absolutely use 911 frivolously. Me, my daughter and several friends and family are first responders. However, that 5% of serious calls I’m really glad they called.
I agree with IPv6Freely: emergencies are critical but - thankfully - rare; but, the need to contact people to tell them about your situation ("arrived", "getting there late", etc) is very important. So, inReach still has the nod for me for the moment. Also, its "purpose built" form is very influential to me - especially battery life! And, let me not forget: this is a great review!!
The inreach connects to a team of professionals, the Apple team is being assembled now not something I would trust . The mini clips to your back and obviously a weather proof device. iPhones maybe, maybe not especially if you happen to tumble down the side of a mountain or drop into 35 degree water . How good would that iPhone be then . I’ve seen plenty of professional hikers and video hiking bloggers and almost to the person they have an inreach clipped to their shoulder straps .
Very cool article. This just motivated me enough to upgrade from the 13 pro max to the 15 pro max as of Sept 2023. Now, I see they've added 'Roadside assistance' to the satellite functionality. The inReach seems like another great option to take safety & security to another level. Their basic service is very reasonably priced.
Dude. I found your website yesterday when trying to understand about GPS (nav, watches, satellite, and PLB) devices. I read several articles on the website and today I'm watching numerous videos. I'm blown away by the thoroughness of your reviews. I've never owned GPS navigation, watch, satellite or PLB communicator devices (other than Google Maps and testing out GaiaGPS over the last week)... so you helped me go from zero knowledge to quite a lot of knowledge very very quickly. What an immense help. I feel like I know exactly what to expect if I were to purchase a given device (pros & cons). This has rapidly helped me narrow down what I thought I might want to more appropriate choices. Big time props and THANK YOU so much for putting all of this information together to help others.
Wow, man, big big thank your for the note. It's music to my ears that the guides have been helpful. I'm in the process of coming up with some beginner focused guides now because I think it could help more folks. Thanks again and hope to see you out there one day.
Thanks!
You have been so helpful in the last few months to understand better the in reach system.
Just bought a 67i. Wish you a great time over these holidays.
Big big thank you! Any questions, just post here!
Excellent video as always.
I love my inreach and most definitely will gladly keep paying my annual susbcription and wilk continue using it during my hikes. The durability and sturdiness of the inreach as well as the reliability of their center of operations is what is all about. Thank you so much for such great review.
My gut feeling is if you already have a viable phone, it might be cheaper overall to buy the In-Reach. If you need a new phone anyway, then it might make sense to consider the iPhone. Thanks for helping me think this through.
Dude, you rock! What a thorough report. Big kudos, very informative. Thanks!
Good overview of iPhone vs InReach. I have the iPhone 11 now, and am going to start Motorcycle camping.
This is such a well done comprehensive video. Great job.
Great video, Just picked up an iPhone 14 and tried out the Find my phone app several times here in The Highlands of Scotland. Works really well. Tells the other people in your group that you have used satellite if they look. Handy to have as its essentially free.
thank you - great to hear that it's working well in that part of the world too
Great review! I just got an iPhone 14 and I did not know this. I was a SAR member 30 years ago and I remember the many stories which didn’t end well, this technology is definitely a great step forward to help people and searchers will have vital information that they need right away. One of the cons with the iPhone is the battery and to counter that bring a battery bank as a back up.
You mentioned trying this is a narrow canyon by Las Vegas and I’m thinking “Ice Box Canyon” if so that is very impressive
Well thanks for serving as a SAR member - I know it's a challenging job with risk. And yes, Ice Box was the one. Before going in there I didn't think that anything would really work so I was surprised by the 1min send on the iPhone. Blows my mind sometimes.
Thanks. Very informative. Answered a number of questions that I had about both devices.
Very helpful; thanks so much!
I have family members who hike and fish offshore in the ocean. I appreciate the great comparisons.
subscribed
I can see the inReach going the way of the pager. Technology works like that.
Thanks for this! I'm somebody that really would only use this in an emergency situation. I was recently looking at the Garmins but man - not cheap. I'd also been semi-interested in upgrading my phone. For the cost of paying off my current contract for the 12 Pro, going up to the 14, I'm actually saving a bit. Thanks again for the awesome information!
Superb & thorough video. Well done! Thanks you!
Thank you for the information in this video I have an i phone 14 but didn’t really know how the satellite part of this phone worked. I am new to i phone. Your video was very helpful. I also didn’t know about the other device as a comparison good info Thanks!
Thank you for the comprehensive overview!
Got the Garmin Messenger (feedback after 6 months). Amazing! Reliable! Get quick connection. Perfectly compatible with Fenix. Great piece from Garmin. I hope the compatibility will be extended to other devices (Venu 3).
InReach is a far superior communication solution. It’s no contest really. Better connectivity, better battery life (by FAR), two-way communication, far more robust and experienced emergency communications centre and staff.
I stumbled across your channel, and so far i love these in-depth testing/review videos, really underrated, easy sub!!
Thank you!
Glad to see that this works so well. I still like the features of my InReach Explorer Apple isn't as rugged either.
Liked and subscribed! Thank you for making this. Very informative
Solid comparison video and, for me, a good understanding of the iPhone capabilities versus the inReach Mini 2 that I already have. I use Android phones, which will be adding this capability in the upcoming OS release. Thanks for making this video!
thanks for this informative and balanced video
Great info. Laughing about the durability. I have broke two spots, my Garmins hold up so much better.
How do you think an iPhone will hold up?
Nice comparison. One thing you didn’t mention was that Garmin offers an insurance plan that covers the cost of rescue worldwide. This can get expensive if you have to get a medivac via helicopter or other means, to a hospital or back to your home country.
check this out - th-cam.com/video/G-Iy-VXrggA/w-d-xo.html
Thank you very much for your detailed comments and recommendations….I am sure many of your listeners will benefit from your content…..keep it up!!
Your video helped me make a difficult decision. Thank you
Nice review.. I just upgraded two family members to 14’s. I’ll continue to use my Garmin Inreach mini for now. Edit: during the recent severe storms in the NE of the 🇺🇸, I read where as many as 27 people died in their cars, when stranded. Imagine having had an iPhone 14 to prevent that. I get that most people in those situations would never own a PLB so a phone would have been a lifesaver.
Yea, agree 100%, obviously it's not perfect but it will def save more lives
Yep. Choosing the 14 (Pro) for precisely this feature
Not everyone likes iphone.
Good to learn what will or will not function for us in S E Asia. I am semi-retired here and doing a bit of exploring with my family.
Very good video on comparing these valuable communication systems. The inReach carried along with
iPhone 14 would be ideal - as having a backup system is worth having. Thank you for sharing !!
Köszönjük!
Thank you!!!
What a thorough comparison!! Thank you
Thanks for a great review, I never knew Apple had brought this in until i saw an article that Samsung will probably do it on the next Galaxy Ultra. It's not something I'd use often but always handy to have.
Thank you for this info. This was the major factor to my upgrading the phone.
For the InReach mini 2 the waterproof housing offered by Garmin is another feature that scuba divers have found to be useful.
Cris is one of the best reviewers on TH-cam. It’s that simple.
thank you!
Thank you, you presented a really great review. There is definitely a big difference between an Iridium / InReach and Globalstar systems. Hard core adventurer vs urban area users is a clear distinction for me.
I really enjoy your channel. I have learned so much from watching your videos. Thank you!
A word on Garmin InReach pricing - you can turn your subscription on and off at will. You do have to pay for a month at a time, but you can wait until you are going out the first time in the season, and turn it on. Then turn it off again if June is going to be too busy, then wait and maybe your next trip out isn't until late July, hit it again. So for less frequent users (like me, whose job prevents weekly trips), a year's worth of use may only cost you three or four months worth of service as long as you remember to turn it off. Personally, I've always turned it on, then turned it off right away because it continues for the month you paid for. Then I just check it each time I'm going to be using it to see if it's still subscribed through the duration of the trip (plus a safety day or two)
Excellent presentation. Something we maybe should bear in mind is the relative transmitter power of these devices. This info could be out of date by now, but the reason I carry a PLB as well as an Inreach is that the transmitter on my Inreach is 0.5 Watts, whereas the PLB is 5 Watts which makes it 10x more powerful. I know that when I have been in the heavily wooded areas and deep gullies of the Blue Mountains in Australia, the Inreach doesn't always get a satellite fix, hence I carry the PLB as emergency backup. I would be interested to know the power of the iphone 14 transmitter in this regard.
Yea I looked for the transmit power but Apple is usually tight-lipped about hard specs - I think it's using the Qualcomm X65 modem but couldn't find any specs that I could compare to a PLB, etc.
Excellent point and is why I threw my spot device out due to its unreliability. I now carry a PLB anytime I go into the mountains.
You are the best reviewer and teacher for the outdoors hiking exploring. As a prior Sierra Mountain Guide I know how knowledgeable you are how thorough how objective and realistic your advice is. Keep up the good work and TY!
Thank you, I appreciate it!
great explanation in detail this was VERY helpful and useful.
Great review … thank you very much. Didn’t know about sharing my location via find my app. Will definitely use that when hiking
I purchased a Garmin Tread Overland for the GPS & InReach functionality, and when my phone was giving out I upgraded to the iPhone 14 for the additional GPS feature.
I have my old iPhone 11 Pro Max. I also am a sailor and sometimes go on “epic” sailing vacations where we charter a bit 45 foot Catamaran in various locations around the world. Because of my sailing hobby about four years ago I bought the Garmin InReach Explorer+. I have paid a monthly fee of around $45 since then. I have rarely used it, pretty much only for an occasional text, or test message. I have never used it for an emergency. But it’s insurance to me.
I value feeling safe, particularly now that I’m married and have my wife to protect. One more thing. I don’t always have the Garmin unit with me. We have a sailboat where we live locally and often go out for a day sail off of the California coast on the Pacific ocean (or even for a multi day trip to Catalina Island a handful of times a year). I have found during these times that we sometimes find ourselves out of cell phone range. So my wife and I agreed a few days ago that we are going to upgrade our iPhones to the latest 14 models. If we can have that satellite link no matter where we are, why not have it with us at all times?
Thanks!
WHOA thank you so much for your support!!!
Thanks for doing such a thorough review of these!
Incredibly comprehensive video. Thanks so much.
Just a super minor addendum though, "watching videos" aren't actually as intensive as most people expect, it's such a common use case that there's significant portions of the overall hardware dedicated to video encode/decode, which makes those operations rather efficient. Heavy use of the cellular radios in low reception areas would definitely consume more power than video consumption, so I suspect Emergency SOS via satellite is probably several times more expensive than video playback.
Very informative and helpful video. Many thanks for posting this video.
Very good presentation. I have a Mcmurdo 406 which costs about $250 but does not need a service plan. It’s a one time use emergency beacon that also works worldwide. I think I’ll get the iPhone 14 to compliment it as you suggested. The Mcmurdo is rugged, transmits a couple of days, has a strobe, but you cannot advise the nature of your emergency. Thanks again for your informative video.
Thank you and I carry a PLB as well (PLB1). Good to have some redundancy.
Excellent & very informative video. Yes, I've given it a thumbs up, Yes, I'm a longtime subscriber.
My primary navigation tool is the Garmin 62S GPS that I ALWAYS have with me when out in the boonies.
My last ditch, Life or Death communicator is a PLB, specifically, the ACR ResQLink.
Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada.
Wow. If I hadn’t bought an iPhone 13 just last year, I would jump in the 14 for the SOS feature alone. My InReach is a pain in the butt to use!
you should check out the trade in value for your 13, it's pretty easy to swap up at Apple
Thanks for the in depth review. Very informative.
Very thorough video. Great job!
Thank you for the knowledgeable reviews on these products in a rapidly changing market. Helped me see that both the Iphone14 and Inreach are important to have in the backcountry. Made the Garmin purchase through your links to cement my gratitude!
Thanks for the support! And glad the guides have been helpful!
Super good review and comparison! I'm an android user, probably won't switch to Apple. I'll stick with my inReach Mini 2 and basic annual plan.
The Apple is a good option though for loyal users.
Wow! Sounds like the features were very well thought out.
We built the Global Star sat system back in the late 90s, under the name Space System Loral.
But actually it was built in Italy and launched by the Soyuz rockets to space.
It went bankrupt 2 years later, after when online.
Couldn't generate enough money even to break even for the cost to keep it to operate.
It was sold for pennies for the military, just like Iridium, the Motorola sat system.
Global Star was designed to work anywhere on Earth, except the N & S polls.
Chip manufacturer Qualcomm have joined up with Iridium & a new company called Snapdragon Satellite was set up. The sat communication service has already been taken up by 17 device manufacturers that develop android phones. Meaning that not only will phones have also emergency sat communication, it will be ran on the Iridium network which allows global coverage. If that isn't cool enough, the messaging service allows you to communicate with anyone & won't limit you to just emergency services.
Great video!! I'll keep an eye on the iPhone 14 (worldwide coverage and two way messaging is important to me).
The Starlink T-Mobile style comms are starting to spread to others like AT&T with AST Spacemobile. And it probably will be easier to connect and more reliable because it uses existing cellular frequencies and the phone thinks you’re on a tower. Can’t wait to see this action.
Yea same, excited to see how that system pans out
Two-way emergency notification capability can work in both directions: I will cut short my backcountry trip if I am notified of a problem back home.
You can dial 112 anywhere in the world and you’ll be connected to emergency service in that country. GSM phones only (ie most phones on the planet). This is part of the GSM standard and all the ‘dial emergency services’ button is doing is dialling 112. All carriers are required to carry an emergency call everywhere in the world - again, part of the GSM standard. You don’t need a SIM card to make an emergency call. In many countries, regulations force mobile cos to have a completely separate band to carry emergency calls (usually a lower frequency band) on the network.
I have a SPOT X that I use out in the SoCal deserts and most of the reliability issues have been fixed. They put out a series of updates and now I can send a text in less than 5 minutes when it used to be 30+ minutes or not at all.
Good to know, maybe I'll check it out again, thank you
Excellent review. I’ll keep both for now.
Very impressive presentation 👍
Very clear and helpful thanks 🙏
Thanks for the great review of the two devices. I used the inreach for part of the JMT and was able to let my wife know we were ending the hike, no emergency and within ½ of arriving in Lone Pine my wife came from the OC to pick us up. It was a bit laborious in sending non preset messages but it worked great even in tree cover. sold it this year and planning on finishing the rest of the JMT and will buy a 14 pro and hopefully not need to use it. Thanks again and REALLY enjoy your videos.
Thank you 👍 for watching and glad the inReach worked well for you. Aside for some long / failed sends (rare) it's been pretty rock solid here over the years - wish they would offer a Blackberry / SPOT version with a full keyboard, I think folks who don't want to use the phone / BT would buy it
Fantastic demo’s and comparison. Just received a Garmin mini2 having zero idea about the iPhone 14 feature. Which I happen to own. This video answered more than all my questions. Thank you.
Doing regular road trips to the north west coast and planning an Alaska trip realized on the Verizon map the abundance of dead zones could be dangerous. Hearing banjo Deliverance (movie if you don’t know should be the soundtrack for SOS devices 😅) music every time I think of driving through the mountains of no cell service risking a what if.
Since I provide a map of stops to people before I leave and text screen shots of where’s me like Waldo periodically from google maps this is a secondary check in preset up.
Based on your information for me the Garmin mini 2 isn’t necessary.
My son does a lot of outdoor back woods no tech outings with friends. Sent him the video to use for comparison, too.
Super appreciate this video comparison very much ❤
Awesome glad it was helpful and have fun in Alaska - one of the best places ever. Hoping to get back up there at some point. It's been a while for me...
You are amazing
Thank you!🙏
Greetings from Brazil. This satellite communication feature was most likely suggested by a pilot of an airplane that crashed in the Amazon jungle and in 2021 was missing for 36 days in a remote part of the jungle. His name is Antônio Araújo de Sena, he was piloting a Cessna 210 and after he managed to be rescued, he published a book and was interviewed by several newspapers, including The New York Times. He said in his interviews that he sent suggestions to Apple because, even in the jungle, he had a GPS signal, but he had no way of sending an SOS request. He said that he figured if he could send a message back showing where he was, he could be rescued. I think Apple took advantage of his suggestion.
I get that it's a good idea it's excellent but...
GPS coordinates exist for a reason
@@REAL-UNKNOWN-SHINOBI But GPS coordinates don't matter if you can't tell anybody where those coordinates are. That's the point he was trying to make. If you're injured severely, or you can't send any messages... Then having GPS coordinates is useless. BUT having this technology built into cellular devices, is a game changer. It means that people can send messages through GPS to get help.
Send smoke signals
Not available in Australia or NZ as of Jan 2023. 😢
I was just about to pull the pin on upgrading from my trusty 6S to the 14, but won’t just yet until we have this feature available. I’m not paying A$1400 (that’s base model base memory!) for an iPhone 14 until I can get all its features.
Garmin Inreach is 2 way, rugged, and makes it far more useful, but needs a subscription.
The inReach will also track your hike and update a trail map to allow others to follow you during a hike and notify them by text and email every 10 minutes or less. You do not have to go into satellite mode if your cell is out of cell range which is usually the case. My inReach Explorer+ worked great hiking in Patagonia and out on a cruise ship to Antarctica. If you can afford it, the best combination would be a Garmin inReach Explorer+ and the iPhone 14 Pro. If you want to keep family and friends informed about your whereabouts, including where you are on a map and be able to interact with them, then the inReach Explorer+ would be better. If you are in an emergency situation in North America, then perhaps Apple.
Thanks for the statement, "It's truly amazing". People are so spoiled with tech, and have so little idea and respect for how amazing it is. Yes I look forward to a review when Android offers SOS. According to the hype, it will crush apples.
better keep both, garmin still worth the price
Thx! Great review!!
I think this will be a good thing for sat comm and consumers. Competition is good for business. Garmin needs someone to come along and keep them on their toes. Their new Messenger app is def a step in the right direction. And I think this is also a good thing for apple users. I'm an Android guy and likely always will be, and I don't see myself parting ways with Garmin anytime soon either. Top of my wish list now is a new GPSMAP with USB C. 67sr maybe?
Since you are Android user, congratulations! Qualcomm implemented Iridium network messaging in their Snapdragon chip (the same chips that is in Android phones). Hopefully soon you will be fully text with your phone, Garmin can also stay there :)
@@asht7788 Yes. Samsung is also in talks with Iridium. But I really don't care for texting or communicating while I'm hiking/biking. I go to get away from all that. Inreach suits my needs just fine. I have it purely for emergency only. And 90% of my adventuring is remote and rugged out of cell range, so really won't help me anyway. But this is all good overall for the big picture in Sat/cell comm.
Great content yet again. I worked in Search and Rescue in Australia for a number of years.
You mentioned PLBs briefly. Inreach and the newer tech is a great convenience. But for a proper emergency nothing beats a PLB. They are monitored by the SAR authorities for each SAR region around the world.
The coverage is excellent and your position is encoded and sent via 406mhz to the rescue satellite/s. If a signal is detected you are in the hands of the government not some private business. The PLBs also operate on 121.5mhz so ground crews and aircraft can use direction finding to locate you. All in all people should carry a PLB first, and then sat communicators for convenience.
Cheers, I really enjoy the content. I bought my in reach based on your original article, thanks!
Thank you and thank you for your time in SAR. Agree on the PLB, and I carry one as a backup. The downside of course is the lack of feedback and one-way comm, but they are solid. For years I lived on a sailboat and know that the same tech (EPIRBS) saved many lives. Cheers and happy new year!
All I can add to your detailed reply is that my ACR ResQLink PLB send a strong 5 WATT signal to the satellite, the strongest signal of any PLB, InReach, or Cell phone . YES, the signal goes DIRECTLY to SAR, not to an intermediary.
I've been carrying my PLB for 9 years, for that just in case situation where I'm desperate for help & unable to crawl back to the trailhead under my own power.
My primary navigation tool is my old reliable Garmin 62S GPS that I always have with me.
Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada
Thanks for this. My setup for remote sea-kayaking expeds on the West Coast of Scotland is ordinary mobile for comms, PLB (by Ocean Signal) for dire emergencies and a LW Radio (Sony ICF-SW100) for the shipping weather forecasts from the BBC on Long-Wave. It all works fine, no subscription to InReach👍🏻. About ½ the time we can get a mobile signal (in camp). We have 2 phones on different carriers. So we can use the internet for the forecast and some comms, but as we are ‘away from home’ we tend not to want to communicate as that interferes with the wilderness experience for us, YMMV. When there is no mobile signal in camp we have the PLB for emergencies only and the Radio for the forecast.
My only ‘concern’ is the BBC are making noises about turning off the Long-Wave transmission at some point in the future. So I’d have to be looking at using some satellite comms to get the forecast. I’m assuming this is possible now with InReach type devices, but I haven’t investigated properly yet. I use Garmin GPS of various flavours all the time. Many have an InReach built-in option, so that might be an option to reduce the number of gadgets carried.
Satellite weather forecast on an iPhone would obviously be very good, if it’s ever an option!
I also like the idea of the location tracking message working easily when there is no mobile signal 😎, as mentioned by someone in the Scottish Hills 👍🏻.
Chris you make great videos, thanks for this. Its so informative!
thank you!
The one thing I found annoying on the Garmin inreach mini was trying to send a message, if it wasn't a pre written message. 2 years free is pretty nice, you don't get any free subscription with the Garmin, granted it's 1/4 the price of the iPhone, but then again it's a device you'd buy regardless of the feature. It be cool to see how things progress with both Garmin and Apple.
Excellent information. Cheers! 🍻
Thank you! Valuable, insightful, helpful video 👏🏻🙏🏼
Thanks for a great video! I'll be interested to see how the iPhone functionality develops.
I'm not ready to trade in my Garmin just yet, however.
I frequently use the InReach messaging feature to communicate with family and friends when I am hiking or camping in locations without cell service.
During a solo hike last spring I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out. (It turned out to be atril fibrillation - AFib) I did not have to activate the SOS feature, but was able to message my husband every 15 minutes to let him know what was happening - and that I was still walking and still okay. It was worth every dollar I've paid to Garmin to be able to do that!
Happy New Year!
Happy new gear and glad to hear that the Garmin came in handy. I've used it many times to tell the wife that I'm running late. I'm a big fan of the non-emergency functionality. Guessing it will probably come to the iPhone (with a fee) in the future. 👍
Very timely and thorough video Cris - Thanks. Bought a iPhone 14 just for the additional SOS capability and pack a 3 day battery pack with it. Non emergency 2 way communication on the inReach is still a great deal, especially for use between different groups in the back country. Awesome job - keep up the great work!👍
Excellent video, thanks for the info.
Great job. Love my InReach.
I have the Gmini2 and an android tablet. Can I pair the two and then put the mini in my pocket and just use the tablet for communicating to home or friends?
Yup use the Messenger app
THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE INFO