What you need to know
- Samsung has apparently been working on bringing satellite connectivity to the Galaxy S23.
- The company looks to be working with Iridium, potentially using 66 of its low-orbit satellites to make it work.
- Samsung could be looking to get ahead of the Android 14 release which has been confirmed to support satellite connectivity for a slew of devices.
It appears as though Samsung is interested in equipping the next flagship Galaxy phone with satellite communication.
According to the South Korean publication EtNews, Samsung Electronics has been creating the technology necessary for the upcoming Galaxy S23 devices to provide satellite connectivity.
Samsung looks to be working with Iridium as its purpose is to provide voice and data communication services using 66 low-orbit communication satellites. Apparently, Samsung's goal with its satellite communication has been to allow users to use this technology to transmit data, such as texts, and also images.
Samsung has allegedly been working on this technology for the past two years with its biggest challenge being making the antennae for the phone small enough to fit inside of it.
The Chinese brand Huawei launched the Mate 50 Pro back in September which featured satellite communication. The phone supports this type of connectivity using China's Beidou network, allowing users to send their texts across it. Apple has also notably brought this same type of communication support to its iPhone 14.
If we're to look ahead, Samsung looking to dip its toe into the satellite communication space could be seen as a way of getting ahead of the inevitable Android 14 release. A Google executive has already confirmed that Android 14 will support direct satellite connectivity.
That confirmation followed a new partnership between T-Mobile and SpaceX as both companies are looking to make satellite connectivity possible on a slew of devices. The partnership is looking to help alleviate the dead zones users may come across in their coverage as the connectivity will initially support SMS, MMS, certain messaging apps, and maybe even video.
The companies aren't looking to beta test this new feature until the latter portion of 2023. Samsung is also likely to release the Galaxy S23 series in 2023 where we will undoubtedly learn more about this new technology.
