A lot of talks have been going around satellite connectivity ever since SpaceX and T-Mobile announced that they would bring satellite connectivity to phones in the United States. However, you need a phone that supports satellite connectivity. While iPhones may get it soon, Android phones are confirmed to get the feature next year.
The news comes from Hiroshi Lockheimer, Senior Vice President of Platforms & Ecosystems at Google, who, in a recent tweet, recounted the days of 2008, when the first Android phone, the G1, rather known as HTC Dream, was released. Lockheimer recalls that it was a “strech to get 3G+WiFi working” on the first Android phone. We have come a long way from then, and even Google.
In the same tweet, Lockheimer says, “we’re designing for satellites. Cool! Excited to support our partners in enabling all of this in the next version of Android!” Unsurprisingly, the next version of Android is the Android 14, which should come out next year, so one can expect to have satellite connectivity on Android smartphones sometime next year.
Satellite connections primarily come in emergency situations when you are in a cellular dead zone. Customers in the US might have a phone to take benefit of SpaceX and T-Mobile’s satellite connection when it comes out next year. However, no telecom operator offers satellite connection commercially in India, so it might take some time before customers can experience it.
The news comes from Hiroshi Lockheimer, Senior Vice President of Platforms & Ecosystems at Google, who, in a recent tweet, recounted the days of 2008, when the first Android phone, the G1, rather known as HTC Dream, was released. Lockheimer recalls that it was a “strech to get 3G+WiFi working” on the first Android phone. We have come a long way from then, and even Google.
In the same tweet, Lockheimer says, “we’re designing for satellites. Cool! Excited to support our partners in enabling all of this in the next version of Android!” Unsurprisingly, the next version of Android is the Android 14, which should come out next year, so one can expect to have satellite connectivity on Android smartphones sometime next year.
Satellite connections primarily come in emergency situations when you are in a cellular dead zone. Customers in the US might have a phone to take benefit of SpaceX and T-Mobile’s satellite connection when it comes out next year. However, no telecom operator offers satellite connection commercially in India, so it might take some time before customers can experience it.