The iPhone 14 lineup will offer satellite connectivity!

[trail_runn4r]

Have not followed Globalstar in years but they were almost defunct 10+ years ago and having failure after failure with their birds leaving gaping holes in coverage. Who knows, maybe they have turned things around. If they are in similar shape today I would assume the kind of investment needed from Apple would come in the form of a buyout (or selling a major stake). Globalstar continued to be be the joke of the industry when I departed several years back. I'm not a finance guy but this does not look good.

Yeah I understand the concern. I'm no expert but people at Apple is not stupid so they must be confident. I feel like we will be beta testing this service for the next couple of years (that's why maybe it will be free at the beginning!).

Hoping that the satellite antenna won't be specific to connect to Globalstar only, in case their service won't perform as expected.


Also, T-mobile recently announced a partnership with Starlink. Not much info on that but they said you won't need any new hardware. So potentially if you have an iPhone 14 with T-mobile you will have 2 options for satellite connectivity. Not bad!

 

[Ubiety]

I knew this was going to be a feature for sure this time around, so I sold my Garmin InReach Explorer+ many months ago. Posted it on here too. Glad to be rid of it and now only need the phone. Already have my pre-order ready for tomorrow morning at 5AM :)

Please follow up and let us all know what you think and how it works for you!

 

[Ubiety]

Yeah I understand the concern. I'm no expert but people at Apple is not stupid so they must be confident. I feel like we will be beta testing this service for the next couple of years (that's why maybe it will be free at the beginning!).

Hoping that the satellite antenna won't be specific to connect to Globalstar only, in case their service won't perform as expected.

Also, T-mobile recently announced a partnership with Starlink. Not much info on that but they said you won't need any new hardware. So potentially if you have an iPhone 14 with T-mobile you will have 2 options for satellite connectivity. Not bad!

Beta testers exactly! ;) I have heard rumors of a "Tesla Phone" and was keeping an eye out for it - hope the Apple offering works as advertised so I can keep on living in my Apple bubble ;)

 

[trail_runn4r]

Beta testers exactly! ;) I have heard rumors of a "Tesla Phone" and was keeping an eye out for it - hope the Apple offering works as advertised so I can keep on living in my Apple bubble ;)

Most likely will get an iPhone 14 too lol so I will make sure to report here later.

 

[DRAX]

Has to do with orbits and investment.

Globalstar already has, or claims to have, full coverage of Alaska for SPOT devices. That's why the spotty coverage, no pun intented, for the iPhone is odd. Must be some sort of technical limitation on the iPhone side with how it communicates.

SPOT Satellite Coverage Map | Saved by SPOT | US

View our Saved by SPOT global satellite coverage map by device.

www.findmespot.com

So it's not that cut and dried.

 

[pcstockton]

It is for SOS only! How would this replace Garmins?

 

[Ubiety]

Globalstar already has, or claims to have, full coverage of Alaska for SPOT devices. That's why the spotty coverage, no pun intented, for the iPhone is odd. Must be some sort of technical limitation on the iPhone side with how it communicates.

SPOT Satellite Coverage Map | Saved by SPOT | US

View our Saved by SPOT global satellite coverage map by device.

www.findmespot.com

So it's not that cut and dried.

My love/hate relationship began with Globalstar, a Spot 1 and a trip to Alaska... ;)

 

[trail_runn4r]

It is for SOS only! How would this replace Garmins?

No, you can also share your location with friends and family:


And probably some time in the future they will add messaging too.

 

[John and Mandi]

ESim only so that's a no go for me but I'm not looking for a new phone. If this is their direction I will be forced elsewhere when I do need one.

 

[trail_runn4r]

ESim only so that's a no go for me but I'm not looking for a new phone. If this is their direction I will be forced elsewhere when I do need one.

Not sure how does this relate to the satellite connectivity.

 

[Ubiety]

ESim only so that's a no go for me

Why? International travel/use or should I be fitting my tin foil hat? ;)

The friend that I end up hitting the trails with the most upgrades his iPhone every iteration so I'm sure I'll get a live preview soon. I, on the other hand, don't upgrade very often but this one has me thinking...

 

[trail_runn4r]

Why? International travel/use or should I be fitting my tin foil hat? ;)

The friend that I end up hitting the trails with the most upgrades his iPhone every iteration so I'm sure I'll get a live preview soon. I, on the other hand, don't upgrade very often but this one has me thinking...

I think the helmet you have already should do the trick

 

[OTH Overland]

I think the helmet you have already should do the trick

It does not seem to affect his radio reception on the trails....

 

[trail_runn4r]

This is an interesting tweet... I guess Starlink is not out of the picture just yet!

 

[John and Mandi]

Why? International travel/use or should I be fitting my tin foil hat? ;)

The friend that I end up hitting the trails with the most upgrades his iPhone every iteration so I'm sure I'll get a live preview soon. I, on the other hand, don't upgrade very often but this one has me thinking...

International travel. It is already difficult to acquire SIMs in some countries due to their rules requiring the equivalent of an SSN etc. Going forward with eSIMs I suspect it will become possible but when you keep swapping back and forth between carriers that could create some problems. As for the tin foil hat, you should have a multilayered one by now...I think there are a few people in Colorado that are starting to understand the nefarious power of "smart" devices.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I always wait for the 3rd generation back phones to go on sale, so I won't get one for another 3 years!

 

[MazeVX]

If not said before... Sat link is supposed to be only available in northern America, not anywhere else, maybe later, maybe not...

 

[trail_runn4r]

If not said before... Sat link is supposed to be only available in northern America, not anywhere else, maybe later, maybe not...

Canada too. But I’m sure after an initial test they will eventually expand to other countries.
Except China. Looks like the iPhone 14 sold there won’t have a satellite antenna.

 

[MazeVX]

Canada too. But I’m sure after an initial test they will eventually expand to other countries.
Except China. Looks like the iPhone 14 sold there won’t have a satellite antenna.

Canada is part of North America geographically, I'm not exactly sure why they tie it to a geographic region but that's what was written in the article I read.

"only available in northern America"

 

[Viking1204]

That’s what they announced.
I’m sure with Apple behind it they gonna invest a lot to improve the infrastructure

Probably why they are saying the satellite function won't be available until November!