The new generation of Android devices will soon join the iPhone community, which supports satellite messaging.
Qualcomm wireless technology announced its latest plan to build Android phones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and X70 modem systems to enable Iridium satellite network communication on the latest Android devices.
Apple Inc. was the first to design the feature in their products; iPhone 14 users in Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the UK and the US enjoy the messaging feature even without quality network signal or coverage. Now, Qualcomm plans to extend this to users of the newest version of Android phones that are Snapdragon satellite-enabled.
These satellite-enabled Android phones will be able to predict the directions of Iridium satellites so that high signals can be received. Tech companies who are willing to design Snapdragon-chip devices would no longer need to contact Iridium satellite corporation but would just have to work with Qualcomm Inc. for the software and hardware makeup of the device.
Francesco Grilli, Qualcomm’s spokesperson, disclosed this. So, the snapdragon satellite feature will only be available in flagship Android phones for now.
What are the plans for this new Android technology?
Satellite-enabled Android devices will be released in the second half of 2023. Qualcomm stated that the Snapdragon satellite would first be available for use in emergencies, which allows users to message a list of contacts when the local network is unavailable.
Iterating the benefits of Snapdragon technology, he added that the feature works using Garmin Responses. Garmin Responses allow the response coordinators to identify a customer’s latitude/longitude in their proprietary mapping and response coordination software so as to determine the appropriate rescue agency to notify when an SOS is sent.
Also, a premium messaging package will be featured in the technology, which will likely attract an extra cost. Apple smartphone satellite feature does not yet support text messaging via satellite using the SOS feature, but Android users would be able to utilize satellite text messaging.
Although Qualcomm is yet to announce the cost of the messaging feature but it says that the service will be free, or cheap if it incurs any cost.
We can prognosticate that the future of smartphones may be the technology where communication will not be impeded by poor network coverage. While this is good news for phone users, what is the next innovative feature Apple plans to unveil since Android phones will soon have a higher satellite messaging feature?
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Photo By Iridium
