Tech giant, Apple, has unveiled a new feature called “Messages via Satellite” that will be available in iOS 18.
This feature, launched at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), will allow users to stay in constant contact in an emergency through satellite even if they don’t have access to cellular or Wi-Fi.
According to the company, off-grid users should be able to send and receive messages, emoticons, and Tapbacks via iMessage and SMS with this new feature, even if they are not connected to the internet.
The iPhone 14 and later models running iOS 18 will support the feature.
We have witnessed multiple instances in the last few years where Apple’s satellite connectivity features have saved lives. This technology has been an absolute lifesaver for iPhone users, helping with everything from finding missing hikers in Italy to saving a man in Los Angeles after a vehicle accident.
Due to its widespread use, a lot of new customers have switched to iPhones. Because of how well the feature works, Google just released a satellite connectivity capability with Android 15.
During its presentation, Apple was reticent to provide specifics and made no mention of any fees or restrictions.
Newsng gathered that for text messaging if you are communicating with your correspondent over iMessage, you will benefit from end-to-end encryption even though images consume a lot more data and cannot be delivered as previously.
Although it was unclear whether the extremely bandwidth-constrained satellite connection would be able to use it due to the additional data overhead, Apple has stated that privacy safeguards will remain in place.
We earlier reported that Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, the company has launched “Apple Intelligence.” for its highly sought-after iPhones which were developed in partnership with OpenAI.
