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According to reports, the American tech giant is working on five new satellite features for iPhone, including greater support of third-party apps and “natural usage” improvements
According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is working on five new satellite features for the iPhone, recognising the increasingly prominent role satellite connectivity will play in mobile connectivity.
Back in 2022, during the release of its iPhone 14 lineup, Apple announced a new partnership with satellite operator Globalstar, which would allow customers to send emergency SOS messages via satellite. Since then, these Emergency SOS capabilities have been gradually expanded, including messaging for roadside assistance and location tracking in remote areas. Perhaps the most significant advance, however, was announced as part of the release of iOS 18 in 2024, which allowed for text-only iMessages and SMS to be sent via satellite.
Now, Apple is reportedly preparing to significantly expand the iPhone’s satellite connectivity capabilities, exploring five major satellite-backed features.
Some of these new features are the natural evolution of existing services. This includes an upgrade to satellite messaging, allowing users to send photographs, as well as closer integration of satellite with Apple Maps, aimed at facilitating navigation in remote areas where phone signals and Wi-Fi are unavailable.
Another area of focus is improving availability of the satellite connectivity itself, with the company working towards what it calls improved “natural usage,” where satellite connectivity can function even when the iPhone is indoors or in a user’s pocket. Current usage of satellite services requires a largely unobstructed view of the sky to use even simple services, but Apple’s work suggests technical measures can remove, or at least reduce, these limitations.
In fact, overcoming these transmission hurdles will be crucial for another of these nascent features: building a next-generation iPhone that can support 5G over non-terrestrial networks. This would allow users to continue using traditional 5G mobile services seamlessly, even when passing beyond the range of terrestrial infrastructure.
Finally, Apple is also allegedly developing an API that will enable third-party app developers to incorporate satellite communication into their applications. This could have open the door to a wide range of emerging use cases, with particularly broad implications for communication apps like WhatsApp, allowing them to function more reliably in off-grid scenarios.
For now, all of these services would be supported by the company’s partnership with Globalstar. However, Globalstar’s future is uncertain, with SpaceX reportedly eyeing its acquisition.
If these developments come to fruition, satellite communication could become a central pillar of iPhone connectivity, greatly enhancing users’ ability to remain connected in emergencies and remote locations. This shift would mark a significant step forward in mobile connectivity, blending traditional cellular networks with space-based communications to overcome current limitations.
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