On the banality of Apple's satellite smartphone
Yes, smartphones (and smart watches) will soon be able to connect directly to satellites. But, no, it won't be as fun as you think.
Apple will probably announce iPhone satellite connectivity Wednesday. The title of Apple’s September 7 event is “far out” (nice contemporary cultural reference, boomer) and the imagery looks like an Apple logo made out of stars.
The news is likely to signal the dawn of mainstream smartphones that can connect to satellites. But what does that mean, exactly?
For starters, it may surprise you to learn that satellite support exists in the current iPhone 13. In fact, you’ll recall, when the tech press was predicting satellite connectivity for the iPhone 13 launch, I said in this space: Nope. Maybe next time.
Apple hasn’t had a satellite partner to offer service. The company is rumored to have inked a partnership with Globalstar, which is expected to be announced this week. Globalstar announced in February the acquisition of 17 new satellites that could provide “continuous satellite services” to a potential mystery customer, which insiders speculate is probably Apple.
Meanwhile, in an apparently preemptive move, T-Mobile's and SpaceX announced a partnership over satellite connectivity this week. The satellites that would enable T-Mobile phones to connect via satellites won’t be launched until next year at the earliest. (All claims about SpaceX should be taken with a grain of salt, as Elon Musk tends to over-promise.)
At minimum, smartphone satellite connectivity would be for emergency texting when out of range. At maximum, it could eventually offer richer messaging service and even phone calls for a fee in select countries. Anything beyond basic emergency texting requires regulatory approval in each country where it would be offered.
Companies have been working on satellite-to-smartphone connectivity for years. Companies like AST SpaceMobile and Lynk Global have been chipping away at the barriers to making this happen, and both companies plan to launch multiple satellites by the end of next year. They’ll partner with carriers around the world to offer service.
What’s truly coming over the horizon is a technology shift in communications technology. In the past, satellite-specific phones (often with comically large satellite-specific antennae) communicated over satellite-specific spectra with satellite-phone specific satellites (and got satellite-specific phone bills — very expensive). Now, phones are being equipped with radios that can communicate with multiple bands, including those used by new satellites specifically designed to connect with mainstream consumer smartphones.
Another interesting dimension to all this is that while most future satellite connectivity will come as a paid service sold by regular carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and others, who will provision that service through satellite partners, Apple’s satellite service won’t come through the carrier. It will be provided by Apple itself, with its own satellite partnership. Why? Because Apple.
The most exciting possibility is for adventurous types — sailors, distance runners, mountain climbers, hikers and world travelers (like me), who very often find themselves spending tons of time far beyond mobile broadband towers: It’s possible that Apple will introduce a rugged Apple Watch Pro smartwatch with emergency satellite texting. This would be amazing.
Next time James Franco gets stuck between two boulders, he won’t have to hack his arm off. Instead, he could send an SOS text with his location to emergency services and get rescued (assuming his watch isn’t on the wrist stuck between the rocks).
A satellite-capable Apple Watch Pro would probably follow the introduction of the first satellite-capable iPhone by at least a year, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. So don’t expect that product this year. (Apple will probably announce the first rugged Apple Watch Pro this week, but it probably won’t support satellite texting.)
And so the take-away from all this is: Satellite connectivity of varying degrees is coming eventually, probably at additional cost and probably not soon or in all countries, with the except of the iPhone 14 line, which will probably offer two-way emergency-only texting very soon.
After this week, everybody’s going to be talking about smartphone satellite connectivity. But it will be wise to temper expectations.
Emergency texting is nice when you need it, but most iPhone users will never, ever have to send an emergency text message outside standard cellular coverage areas.
And while some satellite connectivity will be a fairly standard option within two or three years in some markets, it will (like 5G) be something everybody talks about but few people use. Most smartphone users spend nearly all their time inside the coverage area for regular cellular connectivity.
I’ll tell you this, though: I’m buying that watch.
Mike’s List of Brilliantly Bad Ideas
1. How many phones is too many phones?
Finally, now you can use four phones at once thanks to Thanko’s new Resemaraquattro smartphone stand. The company claims it’s for watching simultaneous videos and playing simultaneous games. And it is — for the purpose of astro-turfing fake traffic! (Still, I need one for my car.)
2. Finally: A social network for cows!
Mooooove over, Twitter! Some lonely farmer is trying to patent a social network for cows that texts the farmer with information about each cow’s health information. Maybe this would be better labeled as the “quantified cow.”
Mike’s List of Shameless Self Promotions
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