Satellite communication could soon be coming to a few Samsung Galaxy Android smartphones. Samsung has been tweaking its first-party apps, which hints some devices could communicate via Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.
Which Samsung smartphones are getting satellite communication?
Apple has been gradually offering satellite communication. On the Android side, only a few companies have embedded the technology in some of their smartphones.
To reliably support satellite communication, Android smartphones would need native support for the technology. Google has been adding relevant code to Android 15, which strongly suggests the mobile operating system could unlock the feature on supporting hardware.
Similarly, several Samsung apps for the Android OS ecosystem reportedly have strings of code related to satellite communication.
Samsung is prepping its phones for satellite communication (APK teardown)
Samsung wants you to use Google Message for satellite messaging 👀
✅ More details – https://t.co/9NJNVgORW8 pic.twitter.com/DzB3RTKb6v
— AssembleDebug (Shiv) (@AssembleDebug) July 17, 2024
Some of the Samsung apps such as Emergency SOS, Samsung Messages, and even the native Phone app have relevant lines of code. Simply put, Samsung is actively amending its app to support satellite communication.
Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed which Galaxy smartphones would get satellite communication. However, Samsung smartphones would need the latest chipsets that support this technology.
It is interesting to note that Samsung apps have code attempting to raise awareness about the new technology. In other words, these apps primarily try to alert users about the existence of satellite communication but redirect users to Google’s solutions. Likely, Samsung may gradually develop solutions in-house for Galaxy One UI OS.
Can smartphones make calls and send lengthy texts via satellites?
Satellite communication isn’t a new technology. It relies on LEO satellites to bounce messages. Currently, the technology is very rudimentary, and only a select few brands have managed to embed it into a few of their flagship devices.
Some Apple iPhones have satellite communication. However, Apple’s implementation of satellite communication restricts the feature to sending emergency messages only. In other words, no iPhone can send lengthy text messages or make calls using LEO satellites.
Samsung Galaxy S24 series phones are expected to support two-way satellite communication.#Samsung #GalaxyS24 #GalaxyS24Ultra #GalaxyS24Series pic.twitter.com/nBJ1u0FD7A
— Raj Kumar (@technomania0211) August 14, 2023
Samsung smartphones might be able to offer more than short text messages. Some reports suggest Samsung could also allow sending short voice messages or users could also engage in two-way communication.
Needless to say, Samsung would initially restrict satellite communication to a select few flagship smartphones. Moreover, the company might not unlock or support all features primarily because satellite communication is more strenuous on a smartphone’s battery than cellular connectivity.
2024-07-18 15:05:46