In its upcoming Android upgrade, which might be Android 14 next year, Google intends to include satellite connectivity. Google’s senior vice president Hiroshi Lockheimer tweeted about the new Android feature and expressed his excitement about designing it for satellites and working with partners to make it possible in the upcoming version of Android.
“Wild to think of user experiences for phones that can link to satellites,” he wrote in a tweet on September 1. The G1 was debuted in 2008, and getting 3G + WiFi to function proved challenging. We are now developing for satellites. Cool! Excited to assist our partners in implementing all of this in the next Android version!
Wild to think about user experiences for phones that can connect to satellites. When we launched G1 in ’08 it was a stretch to get 3G + Wifi working. Now we’re designing for satellites. Cool! Excited to support our partners in enabling all of this in the next version of Android!
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) September 1, 2022
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The news coincides with Apple’s upcoming September 7 introduction of the first satellite-enabled iPhone 14, which will be made official at an event hosted by the company. Google has been prepared to engage in combat since it doesn’t want to fall behind its main opponent in satellite networking technology.
Nevertheless, Lockheimer gave no other information about it. If it’s a software update, it may be distributed to older smartphones through software update, enabling satellite connectivity on such devices as well. But until further information is released, not much can be said at this time.
Apple Satellite connectivity: what is it?
Media sources state that Apple has been developing a satellite capability for a while; the iPhone 14 may now include it. Users can utilise this emergency capability to send SOS texts if they are in danger or stranded someplace without a network connection.
