iPhone 13 May Have Satellite Emergency Service. But Not at Once

Grace Edwards 31 Aug 2021

According to the recent leaks published by Ming-Chi Kuo, iPhone 13 (in all its modifications) will be equipped with LEO (Low Earth Orbit) modules. This information seemed to be that expected ‘Wow’ that Apple inserts each time. But it looks now like it’s not all that revolutionary.

According to the sources Bloomberg only mentions but does not reveal, the new iPhone lineup will indeed have LEO modules, but that does not enable their owners to enjoy unlimited satellite connectivity. It’s all much simpler than the fantastic perspectives you might have imagined. These LEO modules will only provide emergency messages where there’s no earthbound (in both meanings) 4G or 5G.

The abilities of these networks will not impress by today’s standards. With them, you’ll be able to send emergency messages to contacts you marked as your emergency ones. These messages will have priority so high that they will notify the contact even when in DND mode. There will be, though, a long-forgotten length limitation set upon these messages. In case of emergency, anyway, there won’t be time to write novels.

LEO communication will also let users report emergencies. This is not the perfect situation to write much text, so users will be prompted to select from some options, like a car crash, a plane fall, a naval catastrophe, or a fire. Brief and informative, the message will probably automatically include the location, so users won’t have to specify it manually.

The feature is useful, nevertheless (though most of us will pray for never appearing in a situation to really need it). But even in this mode, it will hardly be available right from the start of sales. Chances are iPhones will actually connect to LEO only early in 2022. The next generation of Apple devices will probably have more satellite-based features, given how important it is considered now.