The iPhone series 14 was unveiled at Apple’s ‘Far Out’ event on Wednesday. A day after the launch, SpaceX chief Elon Musk revealed his company’s plans and “promising discussions” with Apple to use Starlink connectivity for a new satellite feature introduced in the recent iPhone lineup. While there was no confirmation on Musk’s statement from the Cupertino-based tech company, the billionaire called Apple’s iPhone team “super smart.” If the two companies go ahead with the plan, it would be the first collaboration between Musk’s companies and Apple.
Apple announced Emergency SOS via satellite during the ‘Far Out’ event on September 7. This feature, which will be launched in November, will allow iPhone 14 series users to take advantage of emergency services with satellite networks in areas where standard cellular reception does not work well. For now, Apple has partnered with Globalstar to power the satellite infrastructure.
A day after the launch, Elon Musk announced via Twitter on September 8 that his company SpaceX had “had some promising conversations with Apple about Starlink connectivity.” Musk has made this statement while replying to a tweet.
We’ve had some promising conversations with Apple about Starlink connectivity. The iPhone team obv is super smart.
Certainly, if the phone software and hardware adapts to space-based signals vs Starlink fully simulating cell towers, turning off the space-to-phone link will work fine.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 8 September 2022
It is not clear if the talks are still ongoing. Neither Apple nor SpaceX has yet to comment on Musk’s statements.
Meanwhile, Musk’s SpaceX recently teamed up with US wireless carrier T-Mobile to announce satellite connectivity. This will allow users on T-Mobile’s network to tap into SpaceX satellites and send text messages in areas without cellular connectivity.
