Welcome to 95 Mac Daily for Thursday, October 9th, 2025.

I'm your host, Chance Miller.

We are sponsored this week by Backblaze.

Leading off today, Apple has announced expansions of two features to new countries.

First, the company says emergency SOS via satellite for iPhone and Apple Watch Ultra is expanding to Mexico later this year.

This joins the existing availability of messages via satellite and find my via satellite in the country.

Emergency SOS via satellite is supported on the iPhone 14 or later, as well as the new Apple Watch Ultra 3.

The feature kicks in when a user is in an area with no cellular or Wi-Fi coverage

and tries to call or text emergency services.

The user is then presented with a questionnaire that gathers information about the emergency.

iOS then guide users through the process of where to point

their iPhone or Apple Watch to the sky to connect to a satellite. And once connected, the

responses are sent to an Apple-trained relay center that contacts emergency services on the

user's behalf. Emergency SOS via satellite is free for two years after activation of an iPhone

14 or later or Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple once again extended that free period last month

for iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users, bringing their total free period to three years so far. Apple also says that Apple Watch hypertension

notifications are now available in Canada. The hypertension notifications feature works on the Apple Watch

Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 alongside existing Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 models.

Hypertension notifications on the Apple Watch use data from the heart rate sensor to analyze how a user's blood vessels respond to the beat of the heart,

and over that time period of 30 days, it can notify a user if their blood pressure is consistently elevated.

Next up today, a new state law in Texas will soon require apps to enforce a form of

quote unquote age assurance with users.

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