The future iPhones aim to eliminate "No Service" with satellite connectivity.

Anytime, Anywhere

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Imagine you're traveling to a very off - the - beaten - path mountain forest scenic spot. You take out your iPhone and want to send photos to your family, but all you see are the words "No Service".

At least for foreigners, this embarrassing situation is about to change soon. According to the latest scoop from Bloomberg, Apple is exploring how to implement more comprehensive satellite communication capabilities for iPhones, including even 5G networks, rather than just limiting it to the current emergency scenarios.

Although it doesn't have much to do with the Chinese mainland version of the iPhone, this is just a microcosm of the entire mobile phone industry.

Apple's Satellite Plan

When Apple started researching satellite communication a decade ago, they had quite ambitious goals: to use satellite networks to replace terrestrial base stations and enable users to access the internet globally.

At that time, there was no technological capability to achieve this vision, so Apple decided to take it step by step. With the iPhone 14 released three years ago, Apple's initial attempt at satellite communication was limited to contacting rescuers without network coverage.

However, since then, Apple has been continuously enhancing the satellite communication capabilities of the iPhone. Last year, it achieved satellite iMessage communication without a network, allowing this function to break away from the rescue scenario for the first time on the iPhone and become more suitable for daily use. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 released this year also starts to support satellite communication capabilities.

This is also Apple's long - standing philosophy in launching new products - first introduce the basic functions to the market, then continuously iterate and add new features, and gradually approach the ultimate complete version.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is internally developing several satellite communication functions:

Third - party application satellite framework: Allows developers to add satellite connections to their own applications through APIs, and the specific methods are determined by the application developers themselves.

Satellite maps: Integrate satellite communication capabilities into Apple Maps, enabling users to navigate without cellular network or Wi - Fi connections.

Picture messaging: Further enhance satellite iMessage, allowing users to send pictures.

• Natural usage: Enable the iPhone to connect to satellites even when it's in your pocket, in the car, or indoors. Currently, all satellite communication requires an unobstructed view of the sky.

Non - terrestrial network 5G (NTN): In terms of hardware, next year's iPhone will support 5G NTN capabilities, which will allow cellular base stations to use satellite networks to expand coverage.

It can be seen that Apple intends to further reduce the limitations of satellite communication, enrich usage scenarios, and use these services to give the iPhone a greater advantage.

However, Bloomberg also points out that Apple currently has no plans to provide first - party satellite calling, video chatting, or web browsing capabilities for the iPhone. 5G NTN is more of a hardware and protocol preparation.

The company providing satellite communication services for the iPhone is called Globalstar. It is not a large - scale company, and its satellite network is relatively outdated. It can currently meet Apple's needs, but it's difficult to provide a leading - edge experience.

Currently, the best satellite communication service provider is Elon Musk's Starlink. Coincidentally, they are seeking a $10 billion acquisition.

The story among these three companies has a bit of a revenge - like flavor: According to The Information, before the release of the iPhone 14, Elon Musk also extended an olive branch to Apple, hoping that SpaceX and Starlink could become the exclusive satellite providers for the iPhone for 18 months.

Apple rejected Musk and ultimately chose Globalstar.

If the acquisition occurs, Apple will face a difficult choice: continue to cooperate with Starlink, provide satellite communication services on its own, or seek other service providers.

The Information predicts that even if the relationship between Apple and Musk is tense due to satellite communication and other issues, if Apple wants to obtain advanced satellite communication technology, the best choice is still Starlink.

Although it's Apple's long - standing tradition to have control over the user experience and ensure that the functions meet privacy standards, there has been no final decision within Apple on whether to provide first - party satellite communication services.

Bloomberg reports that since the early stages of the project, some executives have believed that Apple should not become a carrier. With the rapid expansion of other third - party service providers, this opposing view has become even stronger within Apple.

Becoming a carrier would not bring much profit to Apple. Instead, it would attract regulatory attention from relevant authorities. Apple has even chosen to extend the free satellite service for another year to avoid the risk of being recognized as a carrier.

For similar reasons, even though Apple has invested approximately $2 billion in Globalstar and has the right to acquire the company first according to the contract, it is highly likely that they will not make the acquisition.

▲ Globalstar Satellites

Apple will likely continue to offer the existing and upcoming new functions as basic experiences for free to users. For more advanced services, users will be allowed to obtain them by paying third - party operators like Starlink.

Since there are not many competitive options in the market, Apple may ultimately choose to join hands with Starlink. As the latter is actively exploring the ability to provide full - network satellite access, this will also bring unexpected new opportunities to Apple.

Just this week, Japan's KDDI and Canada's Rogers operators both announced that they will provide paid Starlink service support for the cellular versions of the Apple Watch S11, SE3, and Ultra 3. The watches can use Starlink to send and receive text messages when there is no signal.

Currently, smartphones can only achieve the most basic text message service when directly using Starlink. A complete network requires additional antennas to be installed.

Therefore, Starlink is adjusting its satellites. Through frequency coordination and modulation technology, it aims to make the satellites adapt to the frequency bands of mobile phones. It will start launching third - generation cellular network satellites next year. Meanwhile, Starlink is also seeking partnerships to integrate the function of connecting to the internet directly into mobile phone chips.

The vision of having the iPhone access the internet via satellite network and achieving full - coverage network service, which was conceived a decade ago, might really come true.

Exploring the Boundaries of Communication

Actually, as early as the 1990s, mobile phone manufacturers started exploring satellite communication.

To solve the problem of the relatively small number of base stations at that time, Motorola initiated the "Iridium Project", aiming to achieve full - area coverage of mobile phone signals by launching a global satellite network.

▲ Iridium Global Satellite Network

The high usage cost led to few users for the Iridium Project. Meanwhile, the rapid popularization of mobile networks and the expansion of base station coverage meant that the Iridium company went bankrupt just 9 months after launching satellite communication.

Now that 5G base stations have reached deep into the deserts, mobile phone manufacturers are picking up the "outdated solution" that Motorola abandoned. Currently, it's not very useful, and the usage scenarios are still rare, which inevitably makes people question the manufacturers' pace of progress.

However, a mobile phone is essentially a communication tool, and exploring the boundaries of communication capabilities has always been an inherent mission of mobile phone manufacturers.

Apple is not alone on this path. In fact, Huawei launched its first mobile phone supporting satellite communication almost simultaneously with Apple in 2022, and more domestic mobile phones have since joined the ranks of supporting domestic satellite communication.

In terms of technology, domestic mobile phones even outperform Apple in satellite communication. Huawei has achieved the transmission of picture messages and satellite calling capabilities.

In an era of frequent extreme weather, various forms of network - free communication are no longer just functions for a few explorers. They are a life - saving straw for everyone, and consumers have made the presence of these functions an important decision - making factor when choosing a mobile phone.

Moreover, even within the coverage area of base stations, weak - signal scenarios such as in garages or crowded places can still be encountered in daily life. These scenarios may not be suitable for satellite calling, and domestic manufacturers have another set of solutions.

Since last year, most domestic mobile phones have been equipped with some "network - free communication" functions: without the need for satellites or base stations, two mobile phones can communicate over a short - range network via Bluetooth, or use other nearby mobile phones as intermediaries to relay information over longer distances.

In addition to satellite communication, around 2018, it was reported that Apple was planning to develop a "walkie - talkie" function that doesn't require Wi - Fi or cellular data. However, since the relevant technology was deeply tied to Intel's baseband, and Apple had decided to switch to Qualcomm at that time, the related plans were put on indefinite hold.

Now, Apple has absorbed Intel's baseband team. In the future, all iPhone and iPad products will be equipped with Apple's self - developed C - series basebands, and the "walkie - talkie" function is likely to make a comeback.

At this stage, whether it's satellite communication or other network - free solutions, they can only be considered "non - mainstream" communication methods, serving as supplements to the current conventional terrestrial base station communication.

The ultimate goal is the same as Motorola's back then: to make mobile phone usage unrestricted by signal.

Therefore, for mobile phone manufacturers, exploring the boundaries of communication is not just a gimmick to sell more products. It goes back to the original vision people had when the mobile phone was invented:

Communicate with the world without restrictions, anytime and anywhere.

This article is from the WeChat official account “ifanr” (ID: ifanr), author: Discovering tomorrow's products. It is published by 36Kr with permission.