The next major update for Android is Android 15, which is already on the way to upgrade your Android smartphones.
Hard to relate, but the high-end flagship Android smartphones lack emergency SOS satellite connectivity, but now it appears that this time Google may introduce this facility for enhancing the user experience as per their convenience.
While, back in 2023, Apple already debuted this emergency SOS satellite connectivity with the iPhone 14 Pro series. Now, recent reports indicate that Google is working on adding satellite connectivity, at least to its Pixel phones. A new report highlights how this feature will work, which includes the possibility of satellite SOS connectivity coming to existing Android phones without requiring additional hardware.
A well-known tipster, Mishaal Rahman, got the Satellite Messaging page to show up in the latest Android 14 QPR3 Beta 2 release and shared details on how it will work in a report. It has come to be known that when a smartphone is unable to get access to a mobile network or Wi-Fi, then it will “auto-connect to a satellite.”
Although the usual satellite connectivity caveats apply, it will only be available in specific areas, and the terms are applied such as the sky must be clear, phone calls are unavailable, and texts can take longer to send or receive.
Here’s the question: how will existing Android smartphones connect to a satellite without the necessary hardware?
So the credit goes to T-Mobile and SpaceX; the two brands partnered back in 2022 for “Direct to Cell,” which authorized current LTE phones to talk to low-orbit satellites. Starlink debuted the first batch of Direct to Cell satellites in February, whereas T-Mobile is gearing up to announce the feature.
Now it is expected that, along with Android 15, Google will offer this feature, as evident from the Satellite Messaging page within the latest Android 14 QPR3 beta.
Clicking on the “Add satellite messaging” button redirected Tipster to a T-Mobile satellite coverage page, more than confirming that Google is gearing up to add satellite connectivity support for the carrier. One more advantage of the implementation of T-Mobile is that it will permit users to message anyone, not just emergency services.
On the other hand, iPhone users have limited contact with emergency services. However, at the moment, everything regarding this feature is not clear yet, but as time passes, it is expected that the brand will release more details soon.
