A US woman's attempt to use her Apple Watch to foil a home invasion ultimately succeeded, but not before her mother almost derailed it.
The 20-year-old was handcuffed by an airgun wielding burglar in West Milford, New Jersey, who forced her to strip nude before handcuffing and leaving her on the floor. He demanded US$9000 from her.
After more than an hour she told the invader, Andrew Canning, that she was cold sitting down, according to statements to police reported by NorthJersey.com.
"This led Canning to handcuff her to a bed, leaving one of her hands free, the affidavit states, an action that allowed the daughter to text her mother using her watch and tell her to call the police," the site reported.
But it could have ended up worse after the mum wasn't sure whether the message was serious or not and came downstairs to check on her daughter, according to NorthJersey.com.
She had been unaware anything was happening downstairs.
"She was met by Canning, who pointed the airsoft gun, which she and her daughter believed to be a lethal firearm, at her and again demanded money, records claim," the site reported.
The 45-year-old mother only had US$11 which Canning took.
Thankfully the police arrived just as Canning was fleeing the scene. He has since been charged with armed robbery, burglary and kidnapping.
In July, a Michigan woman reported her Apple Watch had saved her life after a spike in her heart-rate.
Diane Feenstra was worried after clocking 169bpm walking up just 12 steps, something that would never have happened previously. A subsequent ECG proved she'd had a massive heart attack.
Both heart-rate and texting functionality are offered by many brands of smartwatch widely available in New Zealand.
