Elon Musk has worked his way into the conversation about the iPhone 14's new satellite connectivity.
This week at Apple's "Far Out" event, the company announced the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE 2, Apple Watch Ultra, and AirPods Pro 2. One of the big reveals at the event was that the company is bringing satellite connectivity to both the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro models.
In a post on Twitter, Elon Musk, who owns SpaceX and Starlink, confirmed that the company has had "promising conversations" about the iPhone featuring Starlink connectivity.
"We’ve had some promising conversations with Apple about Starlink connectivity. iPhone team is obv super smart. For sure, closing link from space to phone will work best if phone software & hardware adapt to space-based signals vs Starlink purely emulating cell tower."
We’ve had some promising conversations with Apple about Starlink connectivity. iPhone team is obv super smart.For sure, closing link from space to phone will work best if phone software & hardware adapt to space-based signals vs Starlink purely emulating cell tower.September 8, 2022
The iPhone 14 has satellite connectivity
While Musk has confirmed a conversation has taken place about potential Starlink support for the iPhone, it's unclear exactly what "promising talks" means. It's unlikely that an agreement is near so, if the support does come, it's likely to not happen until at least 2023.
Starlink already has another partnership with T-Mobile that is set to go into beta testing next year as well. Under that partnership, most phones in people's pockets right now will be able to connect to Starlink for emergency text messaging features. T-Mobile and Starlink say that they hope to eventually expand features beyond texting to messaging apps, phone calls, and even data.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro both feature satellite connectivity. If you are in an area that does not have cellular connectivity and need to contact emergency services, Apple now offers a new service called Emergency SOS by Satellite. The feature will allow you to point your iPhone to a satellite and contact emergency services.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro will be available for preorder on Friday, September 8th. It will launch on Friday, September 16.
