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Apple and Starlink 'Literally Saving Lives' During Hurricane Helene Crisis

Apple's new feature in iOS 18 is allowing iPhone users in flood-ravaged North Carolina to send messages via satellite when cellular and WiFi services are down. This is a significant help for the 400,000 residents in the state who are without power or cell phone service due to Hurricane Helene. Users with iPhone 14 or later models can connect to Apple's free satellite network to communicate, as long as they've upgraded to the latest operating system software. Elon Musk's Starlink terminals are also being used in the area, with the nonprofit organization The Y'all Group helping to deploy the communication hardware and providing unlimited data plans for each terminal. Over 1.7 million customers across several states and territories are currently without power.

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