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Apple and Amazon Ink Satellite Deal Amid Globalstar Takeover

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Amazon and Globalstar have announced a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire the satellite operator. News of the deal puts to bed questions about the fate of Apple's exclusive satellite connectivity partner, and reveals how Apple will still benefit.

iPhone-Satellite-Feature.jpg

Alongside the acquisition, Amazon and Apple have signed a separate agreement for Amazon's Leo satellite network to power existing iPhone and Apple Watch satellite features, including Emergency SOS, Messages via satellite, Find My, and Roadside Assistance via satellite.

Amazon said it will continue supporting iPhone and Apple Watch models that use Globalstar's existing and upcoming low Earth orbit constellation, which is being built by MDA Space. Amazon also said it will work with Apple on future satellite services running on the expanded Leo network.
"Apple and Amazon have a long and proven track record of working together through Amazon's core infrastructure services, and we look forward to building on that collaboration with Amazon Leo," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.

"This ensures our users will continue to have access to the vital satellite features they have come to rely on, including Emergency SOS, Messages, Find My, and Roadside Assistance via satellite, so they can stay safe and connected while off the grid."
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Amazon's acquisition deal, said to be worth $11.57 billion, is expected to close in 2027, subject to the usual regulatory approvals and the achievement of specific satellite deployment milestones by Globalstar.

Bloomberg had reported in October that Globalstar was exploring a sale and had held early talks with SpaceX before the Amazon discussions emerged. As we reported earlier this month, Apple's 20 percent stake in Globalstar was said to be a sticking point in Amazon's bid to acquire the company.

Apple is working on a series of new satellite connectivity features for the iPhone which will apparently require upgrades to Globalstar's infrastructure. They include Apple Maps via satellite, photos in Messages via satellite, connectivity in indoors environments, satellite over 5G, and a satellite API for third-party apps.

Article Link: Apple and Amazon Ink Satellite Deal Amid Globalstar Takeover
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/14/apple-and-amazon-ink-satellite-deal-globalstar/
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I really only need emergency services, weather, maps (even low-res ones provided the relevant app has GPS), and text communication with immediate family via satellite. The other bells and whistles won't make a difference for me.

I live in Scotland and even here most places are covered by 4G and 5G, but there are places in the Highlands with no reception and it is reassuring having backup in case of emergency. FWIW I also carry a personal locator beacon, a physical map and a compass with me, as any sane person would away from civilisation.

mclaren1444 said:
Missed opportunity. Avoiding Starlink/SpaceX is a fools errand.
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I'd rather not contribute to a company that is crowding earth orbit with semi-disposable space junk. I like to look at the night sky and see stars, not satellites burning up or flashing sunlight.
 
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jgleigh said:
Except this is using both Amazon's and Globalstar's LEO satellite networks. They're all creating massive clouds of future space junk.
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It is a matter of degree: GlobalStar has <100 satellites (https://spaceanswers.net/how-many-leo-satellites-does-globalstar-have). Amazon plans to have about 3,000 (https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/innovation-at-amazon/what-is-amazon-project-kuiper).

StarLink has at least 9,000 - maybe as many as 10,000 (https://orbitalradar.com/how-many-starlink-satellites) - and might expand to as many as 40,000. The StarLink satellites are playing havoc with earth based astronomy (https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellites.html)
 
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VulchR said:
I really only need emergency services, weather, maps (even low-res ones provided the relevant app has GPS), and text communication with immediate family via satellite. The other bells and whistles won't make a difference for me.

I live in Scotland and even here most places are covered by 4G and 5G, but there are places in the Highlands with no reception and it is reassuring having backup in case of emergency. FWIW I also carry a personal locator beacon, a physical map and a compass with me, as any sane person would away from civilisation.



I'd rather not contribute to a company that is crowding earth orbit with semi-disposable space junk. I like to look at the night sky and see stars, not satellites burning up or flashing sunlight.
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How exactly can you see satellites from earth?
 
Oldskool2000 said:
How exactly can you see satellites from earth?
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Satellites are visible with the naked eye when they reflect sunlight. They also appear on astral photography. Although the extent to which you notice them has to do with whether they are geosynchronous (move with the earth, appear to be still when viewed from the surface) or on their own orbital path (move across the sky, like a plane). Look up for an extended period of time somewhere away from city lights in the middle of the night. You'll see what looks like dim stars moving quickly across the sky. Satellites.

The satellites that SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Leo put in orbit are smaller than traditional satellites, but are still especially visible since A. there are so many (thousands for Starlink, hundreds so far for Leo, with a similar goal of thousands) and B. They're closer to earth (hence "low earth orbit" = LEO). You start to be able to see "swarms" of them.
 
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KanosWRX said:
Bezos or Musk.. choosing between the two evils is so hard.. feel like we need a third player in the space (literally) but then we have even more space junk up there.
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*Sir Richard Branson has entered the chat…and exited…and kind of pretended to enter again… and exited again with a promise to return some day maybe when fewer unsexy people are mucking up space*
 
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boswald said:
Why didn't they go with SpaceX? That seems like the first choice to me.
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SpaceX direct-to-cell service wasn't available when Apple launched Emergency SOS via satellite. It still hasn't rolled out in many important countries.

Besides, as far as I know, you don't even need special hardware to use SpaceX direct-to-cell. You just need a recent LTE capable phone and a network provider that has a contract with SpaceX.
 
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I'm interested in how much capacity of Globalstar Apple uses and how much will be left over for Amazon to utilize. Seems like Apple's probably using quite a bit, so I'm guessing that Amazon is more interested in Globalstar's technology (and patents) rather than running them as a business.
 
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transpo1 said:
I'm interested in how much capacity of Globalstar Apple uses and how much will be left over for Amazon to utilize. Seems like Apple's probably using quite a bit, so I'm guessing that Amazon is more interested in Globalstar's technology (and patents) rather than running them as a business.
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I don't think Amazon is interested in using Globalstar's existing infrastructure, since it doesn't support high bandwidth data transfers. They need the talent and possibly some IP to more effectively compete with Starlink with their currently developed LEO constellation.

According to Wikipedia, Apple has reserved 85% of Globalstar's network capacity. So there isn't much left anyway for other customers.
 
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Maybe I have watch to many Gundam anime and other space anime.

All of these companies are doing one thing, putting a lot of future junk up in space for billions of dollars.

I would much rather see them take that money and build a few large scale space stations that could be built out to expand their abilities, which would include but not be limited to, High-speed data transmission, space research & development, manufacturing, habitability, agriculture etc.

From there expand to the moon for humans, and expand robots to act as gofers to go out and pickup asteroids and such to bring back resources for harvesting to expand these stations until we have a massive orbital ring thingy.

Just curious, has SpaceX successfully launched one of their shuttles (I know their rockets are rock-solid)
 
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VulchR said:
I really only need emergency services, weather, maps (even low-res ones provided the relevant app has GPS), and text communication with immediate family via satellite. The other bells and whistles won't make a difference for me.

I live in Scotland and even here most places are covered by 4G and 5G, but there are places in the Highlands with no reception and it is reassuring having backup in case of emergency. FWIW I also carry a personal locator beacon, a physical map and a compass with me, as any sane person would away from civilisation.



I'd rather not contribute to a company that is crowding earth orbit with semi-disposable space junk. I like to look at the night sky and see stars, not satellites burning up or flashing sunlight.
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ha ha boohoo
 
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