The iPhone 13’s satellite phone features won’t be available to everyone

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Last week, Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known Apple analyst, told us that the iPhone 13 will have some nifty LEO satellite communications for those times without any cellular service. Now a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has more details, and it seems that the service won’t be as wide-reaching as we hoped.

In his weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman says that only certain markets will have access to the satellite communications feature, as Apple doesn’t have its own satellites in orbit (yet). If you’re in a covered market though, the satellite feature will only be used for emergency communications. He says Apple is thinking about launching its own satellites, but that plan is “likely years away from taking off.”

The satellite communications won’t turn the iPhone 13 into a fully-fledged satellite phone, and Gurman doesn’t see that happening in a future iPhone either. That’s because it would need expensive hardware that he says isn’t ready yet, and would also cause pushback from the US mobile carriers.

What it will do is provide either short emergency texts or SOS distress signals for things like plane crashes or sinking ships in remote areas not covered by cellular networks. This will be integrated into the Messages app, with any emergency messages appearing as gray bubbles. That functionality could also send messages to close friends or family.

With the iPhone 13 launch mere weeks away, we won’t have long to wait to find out. What’s not known at this point is if Apple will feature the emergency satellite communications feature at the launch, or if it will be a future update.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Good luck trying to snag a new Apple Watch Series 7 when it releases
• Everything we know about the iPhone 13: Leaks, rumors, release date, and more
• Here’s why Apple really wants you to trade in your old iPhone
• Watch the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 get dropped on concrete and dunked in a pool

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.