Apple plans to expand iPhone satellite services beyond Emergency SOS and text messages: the roadmap includes photo transfer via Messages via Satellite, a satellite «booster» for cellular networks, and routing in Apple Maps without coverage.
Apple plans to expand iPhone satellite services beyond Emergency SOS and text messages: the roadmap includes photo transfer via Messages via Satellite, a satellite «booster» for cellular networks, and routing in Apple Maps without coverage.
According to Engadget, citing insider expert Mark Gurman, Apple is preparing several areas of the upgrade: first, users will be able to send photos along with satcom messages. Second, support for 5G NTN is planned — a technology that will allow operators to enhance coverage by «picking up» traffic from satellites. Third, the company wants to give Apple Maps a satellite channel for building routes in places without cellular and Wi-Fi signals.
The team is also testing a more «natural» usage mode in which the iPhone will maintain a connection without having to point it at the sky, particularly indoors or in cover. An API is being prepared for the developer ecosystem that will allow third-party applications to legally and more securely work with satellite sessions without relying on power-hungry workarounds.
Apple does not name the launch dates, and the plans themselves are still «floating». At the same time, the dynamics suggest benchmarks: from Emergency SOS via Satellite in 2022 to Messages via Satellite in iOS 18, about two years have passed, so the next wave may again require several iterations of hardware, modems, and software. Coordination with operators will also be critical.
Apple is steadily expanding the iPhone’s satellite stack, moving from emergency messaging to everyday services. At the same time, the mobile communications market is integrating NTN into 5G/6G standards, so everything from hardware modems to carrier pricing policies will have to adapt to a world where «no coverage» no longer equals «no connection.»
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Apple is preparing to enter the low-cost laptop market for the first time. The new device will be aimed at people who mainly browse the web, work with documents, or do light editing of media files.
