To rival Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite, which launched in November last year, Qualcomm is rumored to be preparing its own Snapdragon Satellite, with the communications feature expected to arrive for compatible devices fueled by the company’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
Snapdragon Satellite to offer two-way messaging, and there’s no word on whether the feature will expand to support calls
The feature is said to be available in the second half of 2023, according to a tweet posted by SnoopyTech. With Apple striking a deal with Globalstar, a global satellite communications company, Qualcomm will likely take the same path to bring the Snapdragon Satellite to the masses. This may be one of the reasons why we reported a rumor about the Galaxy S23 getting satellite communications.
However, the previous rumors did not say anything about Qualcomm’s involvement but rather talked about Samsung’s potential partnership with Iridium Communications, a US-based company that operates 66 active satellites. Unlike Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite, Iridium Communications will let smartphone owners make calls and texts, but with the Snapdragon Satellite, it’s said to offer two-way messaging for now.
Qualcomm will announce the Snapdragon Satellite.
It will only be available for Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 devices.
It will deliver two-way messages.
Available in the second half of 2023
Eventually coming to more devices after the eighth generation phones. pic.twitter.com/88iz34jETw
– SnoopyTech (@_snoopytech_) January 5, 2023
These two rumors may not have been connected in any way, but only time will tell. In a previous iPhone 14 teardown, it was found that Apple’s current flagship lineup had gained satellite connectivity thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon X65 5G modem. Likewise, Qualcomm may have already integrated satellite connectivity with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and has kept the feature locked until the company was ready to deploy third-party orbital devices.
It is possible that since the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 features the improved Snapdragon X70 5G modem, the Snapdragon Satellite may be a bit more advanced than what is currently on the iPhone 14. However, we cannot make speculations at this point and will have to wait until the feature is officially rolled out. before we can offer what we offer.
news source: snoopy tech