Back in January, Qualcomm announced a project aimed at allowing Android users to send texts via satellite when cell phone service is unavailable. The company’s answer to Apple’s Emergency SOS feature should have been . However, this effort did not go as well as Qualcomm had hoped.
Qualcomm is ending its Snapdragon Satellite partnership with satellite phone maker Iridium.Although the two succeeded in developing and demonstrating a technology that “smartphone manufacturers have not included in their devices,” Iridium has .
Smartphone makers have “demonstrated a preference for standards-based solutions” when it comes to satellite connectivity, Qualcomm said. . In other words, they’re looking for a more open approach that doesn’t necessarily position Qualcomm as an intermediary.as Some manufacturers note that the cost of satellite text messaging may have led them to abandon it. Apple plans to cover the cost of emergency SOS for the time being.
Now that its deal with Qualcomm is coming to an end, Iridium says it will be able to work directly with smartphone makers, mobile OS developers and other chip makers. Meanwhile, Apple has expanded its emergency SOS functionality by adding collision detection integration.
Elsewhere, Starlink is . Eventually, the company plans to bring satellite-based voice and data capabilities directly to the phone, meaning users won’t necessarily need to have a Starlink device nearby.