A new report from The Information claims that Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro may feature full 5G satellite connectivity. If this rumor pans out, it would be a big win for users in areas with spotty carrier coverage. While current iPhones have an Emergency SOS via satellite feature that allows users to contact emergency services when off the grid, the feature is limited by design. It only allows for texting and offers no support for internet access. 5G satellite coverage, in contrast, would provide users with full broadband access in areas with no Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
To help roll out this feature, Apple is reportedly partnering with SpaceX, which operates Starlink. Notably, the report adds that SpaceX recently added support for the same radio spectrum Apple currently uses for its Emergency SOS feature. All that said, it’s important to keep in mind that Starlink, in its current incarnation, requires a dish to help receive and transmit a satellite signal. All Starlink users are shipped a hardware kit to enable connectivity. That’s obviously not the most user-friendly setup, which may point to Apple’s efforts to integrate this functionality into the iPhone itself. This, however, would be an interesting engineering challenge for a handheld device.
Apple and SpaceX have been in talks for years
As it stands now, there’s no full 5G satellite internet service that exists for smartphones. Apple, though, is seemingly trying to introduce the first. If an iPhone 18 Pro featuring satellite connectivity is truly on Apple’s roadmap, it will be interesting to see if it will come standard or if it will be a standalone feature users have to pay a little bit extra for. Currently, a Starlink plan for unlimited data costs between $80 and $120, depending on which data speed you choose. Starlink also has a Roaming plan with a 50GB/month cap that costs $50 a month.
Incidentally, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Apple’s plans to add satellite support to the iPhone. This past January, for example, we reported that Apple and SpaceX have secretly been working to bring Starlink’s satellite service to its iPhone lineup. What’s more, Elon Musk back in 2022 said that Starlink and Apple were having “promising conversations” about a partnership. Musk added that implementing satellite connectivity on mobile phones “will work best if phone software and hardware adapt to space-based signals vs Starlink purely emulating cell tower.”
