Qualcomm unveiled at CES 2023 Snapdragon Satellite, a feature that will allow you to connect to satellites from your mobile phone to send emergency messages. If the concept sounds similar to you, it’s because it’s identical to the one introduced by Apple with the iPhone 14. However, the company promises to take it to another level so that its use is not limited to emergency communications.

Snapdragon Satellite will be available on Android phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and X70 modem, which manages 5G, location and satellite connectivity. It is not yet known which smartphones will hit the market first with this new feature, although Qualcomm has promised they will arrive in the second half of 2023.

In principle, it is logical to think that only top models have this function. After all, the latest Snapdragon SoC has already debuted in the OnePlus 11, Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro and they are also expected to be part of the Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup, to name a few examples.

Snapdragon Satellite will work through the Iridium satellite network. It has been operating since the 1990s and currently serves satellite phones, instant messengers and tracking devices. This is where Qualcomm will have an advantage over Apple, as by leveraging the infrastructure already built and matured, it will be able to achieve a global rollout in less time.

Let’s not forget that the people of Cupertino chose a different path through Globalstar. Apple gave it $450 million to develop and deploy new satellites. and as a reward you will receive 85% of your current and future satellite network. This may affect the time it takes for the Emergency SOS feature to reach more countries via satellite. Let’s not forget that today it is only available in the US, Canada, Ireland, Germany, France and the UK.

Snapdragon Satellite Brings Satellite to Android Phones

Once Snapdragon Satellite is available, it will work similar to the iPhone 14 satellite connection. When a person gets lost or an accident occurs in a place where there is no Wi-Fi or mobile signal, they can activate the function to find the satellite and send an emergency message. .

On the mobile screen, a new Qualcomm feature will show instructions for finding the nearest satellite. A notable fact is that, according to the company, it will not always be necessary to point the smartphone at the sky to establish a connection. The American firm guarantees that the phone will be able to learn the route of the Iridium satellites for several months in advance, which will facilitate the procedure.

As we said, the first version of Snapdragon Satellite will only allow you to send messages in emergency situations. However, Qualcomm’s idea is to expand the service to function as another communications platform. That is, so that users can send and receive text messages anytime, anywherewithout worrying about the lack of cell coverage.

However, the latter seems to be very far from implementation. Moreover, there are several more questions on the provision and cost of satellite communications. Qualcomm says emergency use of the Snapdragon Satellite will be free or very cheap, but that could change dramatically with the addition of regular messaging options.

It remains to be seen how the competition between the solution presented by Qualcomm and the solution already presented by Apple in the iPhone 14 will develop. Let’s not forget that those from Cupertino have already patented a feature that allows you to make calls and surf the web through your satellite. connection.

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Source: Hiper Textual

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