Satellite communications are expected to be among the big trends of 2023, judging by today’s announcements. Because after Apple, which offers a satellite emergency communication system on its iPhone 14, Qualcomm is presenting its Snapdragon Satellite service, which augurs the availability of this type of function on a wide range of Android smartphones.
Presented as part of CES 2023, Snapdragon Satellite relies on the American Iridium Communications network, which promises coverage of the entire globe, as long as the user can see the sky. The solution is authorized, at the hardware level, by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, that is to say the most high-end SoC of the founder, which notably includes the Snapdragon X70 modem necessary for its operation.
A solution to send and receive messages wherever you are
This operation, precisely, is described as particularly simple by Qualcomm. The user will be guided by indications displayed on the screen of his smartphone in order to correctly orient his terminal towards the nearest satellite. As for the messages that it will be possible to send – only SMS – it may be both communications sent to local emergency services or messages between two users. As such, Qualcomm specifies that the sending of emergency messages will go through a dedicated application and that that of messages between people can be integrated into standard applications. The ball will be in the court of smartphone manufacturers for this: because let us specify here that if Qualcomm provides them with a solution that can be used in their mobiles, its implementation (and billing) is their responsibility.
Eligible smartphones will need to be equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, and devices already released will likely not be able to be updated to gain compatibility with the Snapdragon Satellite service. Qualcomm indicates that the first devices equipped with its solution will be announced towards the end of the first half of 2023, for marketing starting in the second half. So that seems to rule out Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series, which is expected to be announced in February. On the other hand, Qualcomm is already planning to extend its solution to other product categories, such as tablets, connected objects – we can think of watches – and cars. Until then, other manufacturers should come up with their own solution, starting with MediaTek.