Can the iPhone 14 connect to satellites?
To tell the truth, when Dark Horse first saw the news, people were ignorant.
Not to mention whether the iPhone 14 will support satellite connections, Dark Horse remembers that last year someone announced that the iPhone 13 will support satellite connections.
But the result, everyone has also seen, everything is just the netizens' self-congratulation.
So, this time the news that the iPhone 14 will support satellite calls, is it reliable?
Hardly.
Unlike the previous whistleblower, the media that broke the news that the iPhone 14 will support satellite connectivity is Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to bring satellite connectivity to the Apple Watch in the future. This allows Apple to implement emergency SMS and SOS response features directly on the wearer's wrist.
At the same time, Bloomberg also reported that this feature will be launched as early as this year's iPhone 14.
That is to say, this time not only the iPhone 14 will support satellite connections, but even the Apple Watch will support satellite connections.
According to Bloomberg, Apple's satellite connection feature is mainly used by users to send text messages with location to emergency services and contacts through satellite networks without a mobile phone signal.
Most importantly, whether this feature can be used normally depends on local regulations.
To be honest, Dark Horse is a bit unsure of why Apple is connected to the satellite bar.
However, today we can talk about how likely the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch support satellite connectivity based on the existing breaking news.
Because there is no more news, we can only derive it, first of all, let's talk about the iPhone 13 before it was hyped.
Guo Mingxi's previous report showed that Apple achieved satellite calls by equipped with Qualcomm's customized X60 baseband.
Because Qualcomm and satellite communications provider Globalstar work closely together, Apple is most likely to work with satellite communications provider Globalstar to implement satellite communications capabilities.
Not to mention whether it can be achieved, according to the dark horse query, Globalstar has only launched 24 at present, and at this stage, satellite communication can only be achieved in a specific area, and it cannot achieve global coverage.
Even though Globalstar intends to build 17 more satellites this year, it is still under construction. To put it bluntly, the current Globalstar does not have the basis to provide global satellite connectivity.
Second, there is the question of how the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch connect to satellites.
According to relevant information inquiries, the Globalstar system has a technology that can increase the instantaneous power of the device by 6 to 7W when the radio wave encounters an obstacle.
This increased power, if the mobile phone can still do it, then the watch can do it?
Finally, there is the problem of signals.
I believe that many people have heard of the Starlink Starlink launched by Musk's SpaceX company, and so far, more than 1944 Starlink satellites have been launched. Leaving aside the expired satellites, there are also 1805 satellites operating in low-altitude orbit.
But even SpaceX has such a large satellite receiver (pictured below).
One might argue that Starlink is a Wi-Fi based satellite communications, so it's normal to be large.
If so, then the satellite phone at this stage, whether it is a functional machine or a smart machine, has an extra long antenna.
(Picture source knows Zhao Hengyong)
With Apple's aesthetic, will the iPhone 14 use such a long antenna? If Apple doesn't use such a long antenna, can qualcomm's X65 baseband alone be able to connect satellites?
Obviously not.
So, in summary, the news that the iPhone 14 supports satellite connectivity is as ridiculous as the iPhone 13 supports satellite communication. Of course, this is just Dark Horse's personal speculation, welcome to punch in the face.
As for why there is always such news, Dark Horse feels that it can be summed up with a diagram:
"Rumors, rumors, rumors to Grandma Bridge~"