The iPhone 14 lineup will offer satellite connectivity!

[trail_runn4r]

Apple just presented the new iPhone lineup for this year and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they will offer soon (November) the ability to communicate with satellites.

I think this is pretty cool and with a lot of potential. I think we will see a lot of Garmin/Zoleo hit the market pretty soon...

What do you think?

 

[Speric]

Apple just presented the new iPhone lineup for this year and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they will offer soon (November) the ability to communicate with satellites.

I think this is pretty cool and with a lot of potential. I think we will see a lot of Garmin/Zoleo hit the market pretty soon...

What do you think?

Communicate, as in, have cell reception?

 

[trail_runn4r]

Communicate, as in, have cell reception?

No, they can connect directly to satellites:

 

[Ubiety]

iPhone 14 satellite connectivity, here’s how it works - 9to5Mac

Apple finally announced the iPhone 14 lineup at its “Far out” event. Among all the new features, such as new...

9to5mac.com

 

[Renegade]

"Keep Pointing At Satellite"

ROFL

 

[zgfiredude]

I'll wait to see how it works, but does anyone want my Garmin, LOL! The convenience of one device is attractive as well as getting away from anything Garmin related.......IMHO.

 

[trail_runn4r]

I'll wait to see how it works, but does anyone want my Garmin, LOL! The convenience on one device is attractive as well as getting away from anything Garmin related.......IMHO.

Yeah one device less to carry and keep charged for sure. But we'll need to see how this will perform before getting rid of Garmin... which means Garmin will have to find a way to retain customers which is great news for all of us.

 

[DRAX]

More info here - Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone 14

 

[grubworm]

it's a trap!!!!

 

[trail_runn4r]

More info here - Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone 14

Interesting to read that iPhones sold in China won't have the necessary hardware.
And it sucks about Alaska!

 

[DRAX]

And it sucks about Alaska!

To be fair, it says may not work above 62 degrees northern latitude. That's kind of a hint/magic number as to what service Apple is using; Starlink.

 

[trail_runn4r]

To be fair, it says may not work above 62 degrees northern latitude. That's kind of a hint/magic number as to what service Apple is using; Starlink.

No, Apple will use Globalstar, not Starlink. I'm sure they will help them financially to expand satellite coverage in the future.

 

[DRAX]

To be fair, it says may not work above 62 degrees northern latitude. That's kind of a hint/magic number as to what service Apple is using; Starlink.

No, Apple will use Globalstar, not Starlink. I'm sure they will help them financially to expand satellite coverage in the future.

That's interesting, I'm curious why there's a coverage issue in Alaska then considering SPOT devices have basically full coverage in Alaska. Must be something specific to the way Apple is setting things up with them.

 

[Ubiety]

No, Apple will use Globalstar, not Starlink. I'm sure they will help them financially to expand satellite coverage in the future.

Globalstar? I hope not; they don't have a stellar reputation. (pun not intended) ;)

 

[Ubiety]

That's interesting, I'm curious why there's a coverage issue in Alaska then considering SPOT devices have basically full coverage in Alaska. Must be something specific to the way Apple is setting things up with them.

Has to do with orbits and investment.

 

[YoKramer]

This has been talked about for a few months now, and will be coming to both Apple and Android. Starlink is offering its satellites for this for sure, and maybe others. It'll be an emergency only kind of service that will get a message or short bad cell call out. But anything that helps is good.

 

[trail_runn4r]

No, Apple will use Globalstar, not Starlink. I'm sure they will help them financially to expand satellite coverage in the future.

Globalstar? I hope not; they don't have a stellar reputation. (pun not intended) ;)

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

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I prefer to be out of reach...

 

[Ubiety]

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

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.

 

[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!