With Apple having officially launched its Emergency SOS via satellite feature for the iPhone 14, the next company to bring satellite communication support is Samsung for its Galaxy S23 series. The only difference here is that next year, we might get to see more features.
Just Like Apple’s Partnership With Globalstar, Samsung Will Reportedly Team up With Iridium Communications, Bringing in More Features for Galaxy S23 Users
Apple did not launch its satellites but instead partnered with Globalstar to bring satellite communication to all iPhone 14 models. According to Alvin on Twitter, Samsung intends to bring the same level of communication to its Galaxy S23 family through its collaboration with Iridium Communications, a U.S.-based firm that operates 66 active satellites.
Given that the U.S. is the largest smartphone maker in terms of revenue generation, it would make sense for Samsung to partner with Iridium Communications, giving more incentive for customers to upgrade to the Galaxy S23 since it would become a necessary tool to get out of a hairy predicament. Also, after finding out more information on Iridium, we got to know that the company’s deployed satellites use both voice and data communication.
It is reported that Samsung will implement a Satellite Connectivity system for Galaxy products, in partnership with Iridium Communications.
It is more advanced than Apple's current solution.
Iridium itself has 66 satellites with an ability to do voice & data connectivity. pic.twitter.com/S3zxUyiNcg
— Alvin (@sondesix) November 24, 2022
At this time, all iPhone 14 models can only communicate with satellites via specialized texts that take a few seconds to be sent due to the massive distance. If Samsung can find a way to bring voice-enabled satellite communication to all Galaxy S23 models, we might have a winner on our hands. All Galaxy S23 models sold globally are said to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which also features an integrated Snapdragon X70 5G modem, likely providing ‘out of the box’ support for satellite communication.
The iPhone 14 models feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X65 modem, which was a critical component for Apple in bringing text messaging support between Globalstar’s satellites. It is possible that the Galaxy S23 sporting a faster 5G modem, may also obtain an advantage in communication reliability, but at this time, details are extremely scarce. More information should become available in the coming weeks, then we will know to what extent Samsung intends to outpace Apple in this category.
News Source: Alvin
