Highlighted with the launch of the iPhone 14, emergency satellite communications are being talked about for the help they occasionally provide. They were also free for a year at the birth of the Apple smartphone series, which extended this free offer to its customers and offers an identical service on the iPhone 15 range.
Android smartphones are slow to adopt the same type of functionality. Qualcomm certainly announced its Snapdragon Satellite solution a little over a year ago, but it is not integrated into recent smartphones on the market. On the other side of the globe, only Huawei is starting to offer it and we find SOS satellite communications on the recent Mate 60 Pro.
And if we have been anticipating their arrival on Samsung terminals for months, it is clear that they were not included in the Galaxy S24 presented in January 2024. Google should therefore position itself first.
As noted 9to5 Google, a Satellite SOS option is starting to be deployed on Pixels, in the Security and Emergencies section where we usually find options such as car accident detection. We were able to see its appearance on our Pixel 7 Pro, although clicking on the option does not trigger any operation.
9to5 Google points to a support page accessible on rooted Pixels (this is not the case for our model), which allows you to learn more. It is therefore a question of both emergency calls and SMS using satellite networks, position sharing, but also sending to Garmin’s specialized services.
The American firm, which the general public knows above all for its connected watches and solutions dedicated to outdoor activities, offers an offer called Search and Rescue Insurance, which relies in particular on satellite networks for €45/year .
It remains to determine the list of eligible terminals, but also the date of activation of its SOS satellite communications service. This could be presented at the Google I/O conference, traditionally organized in May.