Android phones will soon get iPhone-like SOS satellite texting - ZDNet

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Soon, it won't beryllium conscionable iPhone 14 owners successful the US and Europe who tin bask Emergency SOS options via satellite. Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm and outer relation Iridium person announced an statement astatine CES 2023 to bring outer connectivity to caller premium Android smartphones successful 2023. 

Qualcomm is calling its work Snapdragon Satellite, which volition alteration satellite-based two-way messaging for exigency use, SMS texting, and different messaging apps. Qualcomm says it's not conscionable for emergencies but besides for recreational usage successful remote, rural, and offshore locations. 

Snapdragon Satellite for exigency messaging should beryllium disposable successful premium Android phones successful prime regions during the 2nd fractional of 2023.

Also: CES 2023 Day 3: HTC and Google marque announcements, positive different apical stories

Iridium operates a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, giving it planetary sum truthful agelong arsenic there's a wide presumption from the instrumentality to the sky. 

Apple invested $450 cardinal successful Globalstar to enactment the iPhone 14's Emergency SOS feature. Messages from iPhones spell to 1 of GlobalStar's 23 LEO satellites, are relayed to assorted crushed stations located astir the globe, and past forwarded to exigency services. However, the work is presently lone disposable successful Europe and North America.   

The outer diagnostic volition beryllium disposable connected Android smartphones that person some the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 strategy connected spot and the Snapdragon X70 modem, ZDNet's sister tract CNET reports from CES.     

Also, it's not known whether consumers who person Snapdragon Satellite disposable request to pay, since the work volition beryllium connected however smartphone makers instrumentality it. Apple offers Emergency SOS escaped for 2 years.  

In a December 30 filing with the SEC, Iridium said it had "entered into a work supplier statement to alteration Iridium's exertion successful smartphones", and that -- arsenic portion of the statement -- the "overall arrangements see important recoupment payments from each institution for commercializing a akin capableness with different party."

Snapdragon vice president Francesco Grilli noted Iridium satellites' GSM-like awesome strategy is person to 2G than 5G, truthful users won't beryllium capable to spot dependable calls until it replaces the satellites, but it should person a agelong beingness for substance messages. 

The concern betwixt Iridium and Qualcomm is portion of a wider inclination to widen mobile devices and networks with outer technology. T-Mobile has partnered with SpaceX to usage its Starlink satellites to supply sum successful distant areas with nary existing compartment service. Verizon is also moving with Amazon's Project Kuiper to widen the former's 4G and 5G reach.