Apple’s 5G-enabled iPhone 12 has been a huge sales success. Apple appears to want to keep the trend going by introducing yet another new radio technology to the iPhone this year, according to reports. Mr. Kuo stated in a message to investors that he expects the next iPhone 13 models to include the LEO satellite mode of communication. iPhone 13 users could send messages and make phone calls even if they were outside of the regular 4G/5G mobile tower range.
An article from the year 2019 was the first to disclose Apple’s studies on employing satellite technology to beam data to iPhones. In any case, it’s the first time we’ve heard that the functionality would be included in the iPhone 13 range for 2021.
As Kuo predicts, LEO satellite communication may also be used by Apple’s forthcoming AR headset, the Apple Car, and other Internet-of-Things devices in the future, including the Apple Watch.
Apple’s iPhone 13 will employ a modified version of Qualcomm’s X60 baseband modem chip, according to Kuo’s report. This chip will be used for satellite communications.
On the other end, it’s unclear if Apple can proxy satellite communications to regular cell towers, or whether it’ll just operate with Apple’s own services like iMessage and FaceTime. Uncertainty surrounds whether or not satellite features, such as GPS, would be free or would be subject to usage fees.
Apple’s iPhone 13 range is expected to be announced in September. There will be a lot of similarities in terms of screen size and design factor between the new phones and the current iPhone 12 series. A high-refresh-rate display and a reduced display notch are expected to be among the new features. In the rumored model for this year’s phones, recent news regarding satellite functionality is definitely the most interesting.
