Over the past two years we have heard very often of people who have been saved from danger thanks to the satellite connection of the iPhone. An innovation that, if integrated on a large scale, would allow a much better inter-connectivity between people (and at affordable prices) from one end of the world to the other. Qualcomm, like Apple, is doing it thanks to the new Snapdragon Satellite chip. Let's see the details.
Qualcomm has announced the satellite connection on Android smartphones. Something that Apple has already done and that it also wants to integrate
Qualcomm presented at CES 2023 Snapdragon Satellite, a chip for satellite communications. It will be integrated into the Qualcomm x70 modem and present in every Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. However, the new feature will not work on all smartphones. The Snapdragon Satellite chip will run on Iridium's satellite network and enable satellite messaging anytime, not just in an emergency. According to a Qualcomm spokesperson, the Snapdragon Satellite provides pole-to-pole reception, but it won't be available by default. In essence, the satellite connection on Android smartphones will work, but not for everyone.
Read also: Official Snapdragon 8 Gen 2: this time Qualcomm has outdone itself
To implement satellite communications, it is not enough for vendors to install an updated Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor - they also need to integrate Iridium L-band radio frequency equipment operating at a frequency of 1600-1626,5 MHz into the smartphone. The first satellite technology partner Qualcomm is Garmin, which already has a satellite messenger and a special "antenna" for the smartphone. The first flagship smartphones with Snapdragon Satellite chips will reportedly arrive in the second half of 2023. Therefore, the already presented and released devices based on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will not support satellite communications.
In essence, only mobile devices with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that have yet to come out will be able to take advantage of the satellite connection service.
