Apple is slowly turning the iPhone into a fairly capable satellite communications device. He first introduced Emergency SOS via Satellite In the iPhone 14 series. Whereas previously you were limited to relying on the spacecraft for communication only when calling emergency services, In iOS 18 this feature will apply to all situations where you are away from cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. I got to check out the updated experience in Apple Park, here’s how it will work with iMessage or SMS messages.
If you’ve been out of cellular or Wi-Fi for a while, a warning will appear telling you that you need to connect to a satellite connection to send a message. Tapping this notification brings up the new connectivity assistant, which includes all your satellite-enabled tools like Find My, roadside assistance and emergency SOS.
You can start a chat from this page or simply go to the Messages app, where Dynamic Island will display a notification instructing you on how to find a weather satellite. You can also go to the Satellite option in Settings or Control Center to set up when cellular or Wi-Fi signals are not available.
The connection experience here is not much different from the beginning — you’ll be given suggestions on which direction to point your iPhone and how to avoid obstacles. Once you are connected, the indicator on the dynamic island will show a green icon, and it will continue to change colors and shapes if your connection starts to fail.
To prevent networks from being clogged with promotional SMS messages, Apple has made it so that someone outside the network can initiate SMS conversations via satellite. That is, except for people listed as your emergency contacts or iCloud family members. Their messages will arrive while you are still in satellite connection. Whether you’re using iMessage or SMS, you’ll only be able to send texts, emojis, or callback reactions. Compressing these into packages small enough to deliver via satellite is already difficult, not to mention images and videos.
In my demonstration on an iPhone modified to not connect to Wi-Fi or a cellular network, I watched an Apple representative connect to an available satellite through the Dynamic Island interface, then send a text to another person. On the sender’s phone, “iMessage. Satellite” appeared above the blue bubble and the same appeared above the gray bubble on the recipient’s phone. Read receipts are not supported via satellite, so I only saw “delivered” and “shipped” status labels below the bubbles.
It’s nice to see that both SMS and iMessage are supported over satellite, even if the latter is encrypted. Apple’s decision to include SMS is thoughtful, and while I wish RCS was included, it’s too big or complex to compress messages for this platform effectively. They eventually make their way to satellite infrastructure 800 miles from Earth and target spacecraft traveling at 15,000 miles per hour.
The company has yet to share details on pricing for satellite connectivity and related features after the free trial ends, but for now, those with iPhone 14 and newer models will be able to use these features for free. Apple’s terms here are a bit confusing at the moment, but you get two years of free satellite service from the moment you buy a new iPhone, and In November 2023, the company added another year for a free trial. In theory, that’s only a three-year window, though that may depend on when you bought the iPhone, as Apple didn’t originally offer a two-year window.
iOS 18 It’s expected to arrive on iPhones this fall, and we’ll no doubt learn more about Messages via Satellite before then. We will update this article as and when we get more information.
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