According to a note from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s iPhone 13 will incorporate satellite communication interconnections that allow users to send calls and messages in non-cellular areas.
Kuo said investors in a note viewed by MacRumors that the incoming handset is equipped with gear to tap low-Earth satellites and allows it to remain connected in the missing 4G or 5G space.
The Qualcomm X60 baseband technology, which supposedly allows satellite communications, is slated to be used in the iPhone 13.
Consumers who live in or near places where cellular service isn’t available, as well as travellers who venture into areas where coverage isn’t available but yet want the peace of mind of always available communications traditionally reserved for satellite phones, might benefit from such a feature.
The business “most likely to work with Apple for technology and coverage” identifies Kuo as LEO Satellite Communication Service Provider Globalstar.
For many years, Globalstar has been operating dozens of voice satellites at that level.
