Garmin Inreach will soon be obsolete!!!

woodwurx

woodwurx

Active Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Messages
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I own a couple of Inreach's for myself and i really like the fact I can be connected to my family via satellite when I'm in the backcountry for several weeks at a time, but it comes at an extremely high cost of money for the monthly or yearly service. Today, I see an update on my iPhone for IOS 18 that will now include satellite texting when there is no cell or WiFi available. The new phones already have an emergency S.O.S. Button, so what will the Inreach's even be needed for? Pretty soon, we'll all be able to FaceTime or video chat when you think you're out in the middle of nowhere. As always, I'll probably be a little reluctant of the new service the first year & will still fire up the Inreach as a backup, but I honestly think the new advancements is going to put a hurt on these emergency transponder companies. What's your thoughts, will you still pay the $$$ to use your Inreach?
 
woodwurx said:
I own a couple of Inreach's for myself and i really like the fact I can be connected to my family via satellite when I'm in the backcountry for several weeks at a time, but it comes at an extremely high cost of money for the monthly or yearly service. Today, I see an update on my iPhone for IOS 18 that will now include satellite texting when there is no cell or WiFi available. The new phones already have an emergency S.O.S. Button, so what will the Inreach's even be needed for? Pretty soon, we'll all be able to FaceTime or video chat when you think you're out in the middle of nowhere. As always, I'll probably be a little reluctant of the new service the first year & will still fire up the Inreach as a backup, but I honestly think the new advancements is going to put a hurt on these emergency transponder companies. What's your thoughts, will you still pay the $$$ to use your Inreach?
Click to expand...
something to think about.
 
Pretty interesting. Looks like there are some catches. It's free for 2 years after activation on iPhones 14 and later. Also you have to use iMessage unless your cell carrier supports message by satellite and then you can use sms.
 
That is for people who use i-phones, so I will go right along my merry business. The Garmin comes many other great features too, yes many can be done on a smart phone, but you need service for those features on the phones.
 
Maybe/maybe not!

Exciting times are ahead for sure. In no way is the Garmin "dead" I think they will be along very soon with the latest update with enriched features and new models. The I-phone is a long way from what our little demographic relies on but everyone will benefit from this race to improve, provide and gain market share.
 
I have an In-Reach and I'm getting an iPhone 16 Pro for the reason you mentioned. Although the satellite texting feature is handy, I wouldn't necessarily say it makes the Garmin obsolete. I will continue to use the Garmin for emergency use only, whereas I'll use my phone for leisurely texting if needed.

I have several co-workers who are members of Search & Rescue and we have discussed this at length. I wouldn't throw away your Garmin just yet…
 
I have been listening to several backcountry podcast from reputable guys that have been testing it.
I would not ditch the unreach just yet.
But in a couple years...maybe
 
As far as I know, the iphone does not have the ability to get a weather update via satellite. Also, does the iphone have a true push-one button to start rescue services? If you are really injured, you may not have the ability operate a device beyond pushing and holding a button for a second or two.
 

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