Have smartphones rendered electronic-scaled-SAKs pointless?

[AimlessWanderer]

I use a pocket torch rather than depleting my phone battery.
I wear a wrist watch, rather than just using my phone.

My Voyager Lite isn't pointless yet 

[hiraethus]

My smartphone is a brilliant back-up device for lots of other pieces of equipment: compass, GPS, map, calculator, barometer, TV, radio, camera, clock, computer, e-book, games console, light, landline...  One is none, remember.

[Etherealicer]

To recap: a phone is able to download maps for offline use, so it doesn’t need a cellular connection if you download the maps.
And a phone connects straight to the gps satellites with its own antenna, so it doesn’t need cellular connection for that either.

You may not need maps (on or offline) to know where you are, but a lat/long coordinate on its own may not be much use to you.
AGPS (Assisted Global Positioning System) uses the phone network and the GPS network together to get a faster position fix.

Offline map will show your position on a map. That is probably enough to decide in what direction you should head.

[Etherealicer]

No! Go outside a coverage area it’s useless. Towers go down, its useless. Solar flares hit, its useless. I never give up old school, for new. The electronic scales are independent and not tied into a support system like a cell phone.

Well, here you will have coverage almost everywhere, even in the mountains. But then Switzerland is tiny.

Sure, the phone can fail in many situations. On the other hand if it works its like magic to traditional methods. I mean try signaling emergency services with a flag, smoke or a whistle . If you have a twisted ankle and you have no reception, chances are still very good that you have to go less distance until you actually can use it go get help. Also, you don't need very good reception to send a SMS. And as others mentioned to get your GPS coordinates you need no net.

[Rapidray]

No! Go outside a coverage area it’s useless. Towers go down, its useless. Solar flares hit, its useless. I never give up old school, for new. The electronic scales are independent and not tied into a support system like a cell phone.

Well, here you will have coverage almost everywhere, even in the mountains. But then Switzerland is tiny.

Sure, the phone can fail in many situations. On the other hand if it works its like magic to traditional methods. I mean try signaling emergency services with a flag, smoke or a whistle . If you have a twisted ankle and you have no reception, chances are still very good that you have to go less distance until you actually can use it go get help. Also, you don't need very good reception to send a SMS. And as others mentioned to get your GPS coordinates you need no net.

When all else fails, and you are injured, hope you can press the emergency locator beacon on you. It is the number one savings thing you should have on you if you are way out there in the boonies. It does work! Last I heard, over 50% of the people saved were in Alaska alone.

[Don Pablo]

When all else fails, and you are injured, hope you can press the emergency locator beacon on you. It is the number one savings thing you should have on you if you are way out there in the boonies. It does work! Last I heard, over 50% of the people saved were in Alaska alone.

Someone say Alaska? 
If you chop Alaska in half, Texas becomes the third biggest state...