After shocking iPhone 14 junkyard crash tests not always triggering feature, Apple reacts

As the latest iPhone 14 lineup was announced last month, these new devices have been outfitted with sensors and tech that can detect when a user has been in a car crash.

According to GSM Arena, The Wall Street Journal recently tested whether they could make the new iPhone trigger the safety feature.

An iPhone 14 Pro Max and a Pixel 6 were placed in a stationary junk vehicle that was going to be crashed into. The test involved driving a derby vehicle into the parked car and checking which devices triggered Crash detection.

After crashing the vehicles and seeing mixed results from iPhones and Pixels, Apple was asked for comment.

For Crash Detection to work, it needs to first detect that the device is inside a moving vehicle. The outlet outlines that an algorithm takes several factors into account for the feature to work.

Motion sensors detect sudden changes in motion, Microphones can detect loud sounds such as the impact of a crash, the barometer can detect changes in air pressure when airbags are deployed, GPS readings can detect sudden decelerations in a moving vehicle and CarPlay and Bluetooth status can better signal whether the device is actually in a vehicle, reported GSM Arena.

Crash detection features in both Google and Apple are not able to detect all types of crashes. There's even a disclaimer right under the Crash Detection setting on new iPhones saying exactly that.

In all cases, however, the devices need to first be able to detect that it is in a moving vehicle, involving some or all the signals mentioned above, as per GSM Arena.