At CES 2023, Qualcomm has announced that bringing Snapdragon Satellite to next generation of Android smartphones.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite service will be a two-way messaging service used in case of emergency, SMS texting, and other messaging applications. Qualcomm also confirmed that Snapdragon Satellite will support “recreation in remote, rural, and offshore locations”.
Qualcomm partnered with Iridium Satellite Communications, which operates a 66-strong Low Earth orbit satellite constellation.
Snapdragon Satellite will start rolling out with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. Snapdragon Satellite is planned to be launched in select regions starting the second half of 2023, said Qualcomm.
In near future, Snapdragon Satellite can possibly expand to laptops, tablets, cars, and IoT products. Snapdragon Satellite will support 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) when they become available.
Last year, Apple introduced Emergency SOS via satellite with the launch of iPhone 14 series.