I can only assume that you have never been to the western U. S. or anywhere at all in Canada much north of the 49th parallel. It can be quite barren, and even if one had a need to stick a cell tower in the North Cascades mountains, it won't cover everything. Hell, I go trail running on local mountains (Cougar/Squak/Tiger, for Seattle locals) that are within visual distance of a decent-sized city, and there are still spots where I don't get cell coverage (and all of those mountains have cell towers on top). Snap a bone or otherwise become immobile in the wrong spot, and you won't be calling anyone despite the fact that it's a ten minute drive to town. And those trails are full of day hikers on the weekends, many of which I'd guess aren't prepared to spend the night if they had to.
If you go hiking or heli-skiing...
I'd bet a paycheck that Apple's use cases did not include those that jump out of a helicopter to go skiing. Those folks, if they have any sense, have a dedicated device, as you state. I'm picturing this being for those like above, who just wanted a casual Saturday hike and something went wrong.
>Those folks, if they have any sense, have a dedicated device, as you state.
You'd be shocked at the number of people who carry their beacon, probe, shovel, etc but not an InReach or Spot device. With that said, most groups have at least one and are playing the odds game that it won't be them that has an issue and can't access it.
There's probably a difference between one-time purchases and committing to a subscription service (on a device that is also more expensive). If I did a lot of remote solo hiking, I'd probably feel I needed to spring for it, but I haven't as things stand.
Several hundred? It is less than $200 which is cheaper than upgrading to the iPhone 15k - that's all I'm saying. In no world is the device more expensive than an iPhone.
If you go hiking or heli-skiing...
I'd bet a paycheck that Apple's use cases did not include those that jump out of a helicopter to go skiing. Those folks, if they have any sense, have a dedicated device, as you state. I'm picturing this being for those like above, who just wanted a casual Saturday hike and something went wrong.