After the aborted purchase of Tesla by Apple, here is the failed partnership between SpaceX and the Cupertino company. Elon Musk’s company, now a key partner of NASA in the conquest of space, did not remain sensitive to the ambitions of Tim Cook’s group to integrate satellite communication into its new range of iPhones, unveiled this week during its traditional September keynote. During this, the Californian company unveiled an assistance feature, allowing emergency messages to be sent to white areas via satellites.
On Twitter, a follower of the magnate expressed the wish to see Apple collaborate with SpaceX so that the first uses the mega-constellation of satellites of the second. To which Elon Musk replied: “We have had promising discussions with Apple on Starlink connectivity.”
Starlink satellites used by T-Mobile
The multi-billionaire also said that communication between smartphones and satellites “would work better if the software and hardware of the terminals adapted to signals coming from space”Unlike in “Starlink that purely emulates a cell tower”. However, Starlink’s approach has convinced the US operator T-Mobile to use its satellites to provide its customers with network access in white areas across the Atlantic.
Rather than SpaceX and the Starlink satellites, Apple preferred to partner with the company Globalstar, manager of a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. The fruity brand has even dedicated an envelope of 450 million dollars for its satellite communication functionality to be developed. This is now available on iPhone 14, but only in the United States and Canada.