According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has a plethora of new innovations in the pipeline for satellite connectivity on iPhone. Apple has had an interest in satellite technology on iPhone for over a decade, and that effort finally came to fruition in 2022 with the launch of Emergency SOS. That’s not all, though, and the company would like to push further.
Per the report, Apple has been debating whether or not it should offer its own satellite service, rather than relying on a third party like Globalstar or potentially SpaceX. Executives have typically been against it however, since “Apple isn’t a carrier and shouldn’t act like one.”
Gurman argues that there are numerous benefits for the company to offer its own service, primarily to reduce reliance on third parties, especially as the technology continues to become important.
Nonetheless, Apple is reportedly working on these five improvements for satellite connectivity on iPhone:
- Framework for third-party apps: This’ll allow developers to utilize iPhone satellite networks for their own apps, ie a third party communications app
- Satellite-powered maps: Allowing off-network navigation without previously having it downloaded
- Richer messaging capabilities: Supporting photos over satellite messaging, versus just plain text
- Natural usage: Currently iPhone satellite requires an unobstructed view of the sky. With potential improvements, Apple would like satellite to work in a users pocket, car, or even indoors
- 5G NTN: Allowing future iPhones on cellular networks to tap into satellite connectivity for increased coverage
The last one is likely the most notable. It’s pretty rare to flat out have no service (at least for me), but being in an area where you’re still connected without any usable service is pretty common. Sure, being able to receive notifications is still something, but you can’t do anything of note.
Ideally, with 5G networks tapping into satellites for extended coverage, that’ll be less of a concern.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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