Will iPhone 14 Use SpaceX Satellite Service?

Official Partner is Global Star
Elon Musk "Had an Optimistic Conversation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Apple has announced that it will introduce a satellite-based emergency SOS feature in its latest iPhone 14 series through collaboration with the US company Globalstar, while the possibility of cooperation with SpaceX is also being anticipated.

According to foreign media such as Mobile World Live on the 12th, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, recently revealed via Twitter that he is in talks with Apple to connect satellite-based emergency messaging services to this year's latest iPhone models.

In a tweet posted the day after Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 lineup, Musk said, "Had a hopeful conversation with Apple regarding Starlink connectivity," and praised, "The iPhone team is very ingenious." Starlink is a satellite communication service provided by SpaceX.

Although Apple’s official partner is Globalstar, Musk’s tweet has made the possibility of cooperation with SpaceX impossible to ignore. According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Apple has agreed to cover 95% of the capital expenditures that Globalstar will spend to build the network, including new satellites, to provide the service.

Apple’s satellite-based emergency SOS safety service will be applied starting with the iPhone 14 series unveiled at the 'Special Event' on the 7th (local time). This feature combines software and custom components to connect the antenna directly to satellites, allowing users to send and receive emergency messages even when outside wireless service or Wi-Fi coverage. It will be available in the US and Canada from November this year and is free for two years.

Meanwhile, SpaceX plans to enter a new partnership with US carrier T-Mobile. Through this, T-Mobile expects to integrate its mid-band PCS spectrum with the Starlink V2 satellites, which are expected to launch as early as next year. This method allows direct connection to Starlink when wireless service or Wi-Fi is unavailable.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.