I have been on business trip and lost coverage for miles and miles with out a building or house in sight. It was unsettling since my GPS app needed an internet connection to update the map. A breakdown would have been bad.
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Apple and Globalstar Rumored to Announce Satellite Connectivity Feature for iPhone 14 at September 7 Event
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Well this would be very disappointing for us 13-mini owners who want the small form factor, along with this feature, if no 14-mini is coming. I'm in a western, mountainous state where I hike to areas with no cell coverage. I hope this is compatible with current hardware, like T-Mobile's service, and Apple doesn't limit it to the 14 models.
Just because the "vast majority of Apple's user base live in metropolitan areas", doesn't mean those people never leave said metropolitan areas. There are plenty of places in the US with dead zones and they aren't just "remote places". I live just 20 minutes from NC's high tech RTP (Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area) - yet AT&T and T-Mobile have no service where I live. So Apple isn't chasing users who live in the boon-docks, they're chasing anyone with a cell phone who travels and who wants to feel safe knowing they can always reach help in case of emergency. Which is pretty much everyone in the world.
It explains the 'Far Out' Galaxy theme. Hope they do not charge you with a Health(+!) subscription for this to gain this additional and possible life saving feature. That being said, next year during the Keynote Apple is already preparing anecdotes of people using this feature that saved their lives.
I believe this to be true as it correlates with the rugged Apple Watch that will launch. More of a hiking backpacking Garmin competitor
As many have stated, this is great for communicating without cell service. Back roads, even canyons in areas like Los Angeles. Friends use InReach or rent sat phones for river trips or hiking trips for emergencies. This would be easier and presumably cheaper. This is one of those things you don't need until you do.
My wife's job frequently takes her to parts of the country with zero cellular coverage. She may be there for extended periods of time.
She takes this with her in the event of an emergency:
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/765374
It would be great to ditch the Garmin and rely on iP alone.
An iPhone (with no protruding antenna) transmitting a signal to a satellite in low altitude geosynchronous orbit (at least 350 miles away) seems like a much greater technical challenge than simply receiving satellite signals for GPS positioning. I'll be curious to see more about how they overcome the uplink challenges.
I’ll just be excited if it allows service through the walls of my dentists office…
Which appears to be lead.
Which appears to be lead.
Stop giving Apple ideas to bleed more money out of us. Haha
Now there's nowhere that you can go that they can't track you 
Excellent. A great feature. And will undoubtedly save some lives. Joshua Tree National Park comes to mind just for starters.
Sure it would be an edge case, but I’m sure anyone in those situations will be grateful that it’s available when they need it. Goes back to the old saying:
“Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”
Maybe my wife can finally get a text through her schools walls.. instead of having 15 pop up the minute she walks out the door.
Who asked for this; what problem does it solve? Along with "Who asked for a thousand songs in your pocket?"
Both typical reactions to Apple developments.
Both typical reactions to Apple developments.
Totally agree here. And this is not a slam at all, but I wonder if the people that don't understand the significance of this feature also don't spend a notable amount of time outdoors (e.g. camping, hiking, boating). I don't mean they're shut-ins ... but unless you spend time in more rural/remote areas this may be hard to fully grasp.
iPhone 13 already has Qualcomm's Snapdragon X60 which is capable of satellite communication..
If they launch this, I predict they'll help sell it by announcing some statistic like "on average our customers are in no signal areas XX% of the time. The new iPhone YYPro will solve this, and we think you're going to love it."
Keep in mind they get all kinds of usage analytics from the installed hardware base.
Keep in mind they get all kinds of usage analytics from the installed hardware base.
No way apple brings this to their old hardware, even though it is perfectly capable.