[eMarketer] Apple to launch satellite distress service for iPhone 14 this fall

Apple is a frontrunner in a race to deliver satellite connectivity to smartphones.

Starting in November, Apple’s iPhone 14 will be able to send short distress messages and location data from remote areas in the US and Canada that lack cellular grid service, per The Wall Street Journal.

The Emergency SOS via satellite feature provided through Globalstar Inc.’s satellite network will be free for two years.

Last week, Huawei announced that its Mate 50 smartphones will be able to send short emergency messages.

Earlier this month, a Google executive tweeted that the tech giant’s next version of Android will have satellite communication capability.

Last month, SpaceX agreed to develop mobile satellite connectivity for T-Mobile phone plans.

Fierce competition among smartphone makers is driving new phone styles and features to keep consumers hungry for gadgets. Meanwhile, satellite providers are looking to ink deals that expand their client base as they compete with 5G and broadband.

Apple has a strong footing in the emerging mobile satellite market. It struck an exclusive deal for 85% of Globalstar’s satellite capacity in 2019, per WSJ.

 eMarketer is of the opinion that emergency messaging via satellite will likely expand to voice calls and eventually more compute-heavy functions for mass-market devices. It could help bolster edge computing and rural economic development globally.

While emergency features might remain free, pay-per-use for smartphone satellite data could be a new revenue stream for the tech sector.

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