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Apple Developing These 5 New Satellite Features for iPhone

polyphenol said:
For most of us, most of the time, it likely makes far more sense to download Apple maps than to use a satellite service, doesn't it?

Personally, I would quite like an auto-download which detects when I am somewhere new and downloads the appropriate map(s).

However I can see sense for traffic, or emergency situations, when no mobile signal is available.
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Alameda said:
Doesn't every iPhone have GPS navigation? And doesn't the S in GPS stand for Satellite?
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The actual maps that are shown on screen are downloaded as you travel. There’s an option to download maps for offline use, but most people don’t do that because of storage space limitations. I travel a lot for work and usually download the offline map of where I’m going just in case - I get extra space on my phones with this in mind, as a large metro area can take a gig or more offline.

It *would* be nice to have an App Intent you could use to tell Maps to download an offline map, say, a certain radius around a specified coordinate so that you could have it automated by Siri or a travel app.
 
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stiligFox said:
I think this is good - initially the SOS feature was going to become paid but I imagine now that they're adding other features that are "safe" to charge money for, the SOS features will remain free.


With as much goodwill as the SOS features have generated for Apple, I can only imagine the colossal backlash it would be if it was found that someone had an iPhone that could have saved their life if only they'd paid for the subscription.

But now they can get that subscription service they wanted by adding other value added things, that will also subsidize the SOS feature for everyone. At least, here's hoping.
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In the US, anyone with a compatible phone can now get free emergency satellite 9-1-1 service from T-mobile, regardless of their carrier.

[T‑mobile Text-To-911 Available For Everyone](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/network/t-mobile-text-to-911-available-for-everyone)
 
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bviktor said:
Emergency SOS is still only available in 17 countries (the richest ones, obviously). I'd pay for it, just make it available already.
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It's more than just a matter of money. When you make an SOS call via satellite they use your location to route the call to the nearest provider of emergency services. They need to set that up with each locality. For any given country that could mean setting up with hundreds of individual regions in that country.
 
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MGrayson3 said:
I totally trust SpaceX with my emergency services.
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SpaceX isn’t the communications company- they’re the company providing transportation services between earth and space.

Starlink is a separate company providing satellite communications services, such as high speed Internet service, and, with the help of mobile carrier partners, Direct to Cell services that act like cell towers in space that eliminate dead zones. In the US, for example, services are provided to T-mobile users who subscribe to them, with text to 9-1-1 provided free for anyone who signs up for them.
The specific services that are available via Starlink originally was limited to text messaging, but as more satellites are added to the constellation, the services have been increasing. Currently, T-Satellite subscribers on Apple devices can use the following apps:
  • AccuWeather
  • Apple Compass
  • Apple Fitness
  • Apple Maps
  • Apple Messages
  • Apple Music
  • Apple Weather
  • CalTopo
  • Google Maps
  • Overwatch x Rescue SOS
  • onX Backcountry
  • onX Fish
  • onX Hunt
  • onX Offroad
  • T-Life
  • WhatsApp
  • X
  • Yahoo Mail
Android users have a similar list. Anyone with an unlocked modern phone with an available eSIM can add T-Satellite service.
 
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bmark said:
These features are pretty much useless! Who cares about sending photo's via a satellite connection.
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Journalists in areas without cell service. People in a disaster stricken area…Someone texting 9-1-1 who can’t explain what’s going on in words…
 
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jz0309 said:
Anyone in the know how this would actually work?
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Indoor satellite connectivity is a laudable goal. But that doesn’t mean Apple will be able to make it work. Or, to be fair, that they can’t do it, either. Still, how long did the company work on its own modem? And they’re still at work on AI - and it’s looks like they’ll rely on Google to make it happen.

EDIT: A brief web search turned up this piece. I couldn ‘t find a similar story on Mac Rumors. It might be more likely than we think right now: https://www.computerworld.com/artic...ble-to-use-satellite-connections-indoors.html
 
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Gurman reportedly mentions "if SpaceX acquires Globalstar..." IMO that would be anti-competitive, and hopefully some future less bought-and-paid-for USA administration will prohibit any such acquisition as an anti-competitive violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
 
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Alameda said:
Doesn't every iPhone have GPS navigation? And doesn't the S in GPS stand for Satellite?
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Correct, and even works well in airplane mode with downloaded maps. Without either cellular or downloaded map, that GPS dot shows our correct location on a blank screen.
 
This is something I could really use! Living in the Southwest US near Death Valley almost anywhere I go for my astrophotography projects are out of cell range.

If I try to mark a point on a map, the coordinates change to the nearest town when I am back in range which is way annoying. You'll be driving and suddenly the map turns solid and only gives an estimate of location. Getting stuck or helping someone who's stuck is frustrating.
 
4dmaze said:
This is something I could really use! Living in the Southwest US near Death Valley almost anywhere I go for my astrophotography projects are out of cell range.

If I try to mark a point on a map, the coordinates change to the nearest town when I am back in range which is way annoying. You'll be driving and suddenly the map turns solid and only gives an estimate of location. Getting stuck or helping someone who's stuck is frustrating.
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Well you can at least get the maps working well even without these new features. The GPS will give you accurate results all the time (well 99.9999% of the time) so all you need is to keep maps of all places you travel to downloaded for offline use.
 
tridley68 said:
Satellite maps would definitely be a game changer . 👍
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though if you use offline maps (Apple, google, others support this) then you don't need any cellular or satellite internet to navigate. Satellite support for maps is mostly handy for times when you get caught off guard and didn't remember to download maps for offline use. In AZ I'm off the grid quite a bit so I have large areas permanently downloaded.

FYI, I went to Italy recently and wasn't sure about my data plan so I downloaded maps of many areas of Italy. Worked great.
 
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