Oliver Haslam on September 9, 2022, 2:45 pm

iPhone 14 Emergency SOS Via Satellite Feature Could Have Used Starlink

Apple announced the new iPhone 14 lineup earlier this week along with a new feature that allows people to contact emergency services via satellite connectivity when they are outside of cell service.

Now, Starlink’s Elon Musk says that his company had talks with Apple about giving iPhones the capability to talk to its own satellites.

Apple’s current implementation uses Globalstar satellites, but Musk told one Twitter user that his company had “some promising conversations with Apple about Starlink connectivity.” However, it doesn’t appear that anything went beyond that, although that could change in the future.

Musk went on to say that the team working on iPhones is “super smart” before adding that the “link from space to phone will work best if phone software & hardware adapt to space-based signals vs Starlink purely emulating cell tower.”

The new SOS functionality is designed to help people call for help when they are in a part of the world that doesn’t have full cell service, potentially leaving them in a life-threatening situation.

Apple’s new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro lineup will all go on sale next Friday, September 16 with devices going up for pre-order today. Apple has already made its new Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra, and updated Apple Watch SE available for pre-order, while the newly refreshed AirPods Pro will also be available for pre-order today.