Apple iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via satellite will soon come to Android phones. Qualcomm at CES 2023 has announced Snapdragon Satellite- a satellite-based two-way capable messaging solution for premium smartphones. The company has partnered with Iridium and Garmin to introduce the satellite connectivity for two-way texting in remote or no internet connectivity areas.
The company informs that Snapdragon Satellite feature will be available only on phones that run Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and its X70 Modem system. The feature is scheduled to roll out on next-generation smartphones, launched in select regions starting in the second half of 2023.
The Snapdragon Satellite is powered by Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF Systems and is backed by Iridium’s operational satellite constellation. The solution for smartphones utilizes Iridium’s weather-resilient L-band spectrum for uplink and downlink.
To send SMS via satellite, you will need a clear sky and time to set up a connection between your phone and the satellite. Once the connection is set up, you can start sending SMS messages.
According to 9to5Google report, you can send only 160-character messages using the Qualcomm’s satellite connectivity feature. You can type your own messages and choose the recipient from your phone’s contact book which isn’t possible with iPhone 14. Apple allows you to send limited responses to emergency services.
“Kicking off in premium smartphones later this year, this new addition to our Snapdragon platform strongly positions us to enable satellite communication capabilities and service offerings across multiple device categories,” Durga Malladi, senior vice president and general manager, cellular modems and infrastructure, Qualcomm Technologies said while announcing the feature at CES 2023.
Qualcomm, for now, will add the Satellite messaging feature only to its premium chips with plans to expand it to laptops, tablets, IoT and vehicles.
