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HomeTechnologyApple teams up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite services to iPhones

Apple teams up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite services to iPhones

Right now, iPhones use Apple’s own satellite service, but it’s pretty basic—just emergency calls, texting, and location sharing.

January 29, 2025 / 12:30 IST
iPhone

Imagine being stuck in the middle of nowhere without wifi, mobile data, just you and your phone showing that dreaded No Service sign. Annoying, right? Well, Apple might have a solution, and it involves Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has teamed up with SpaceX and T-Mobile to bring Starlink satellite support to iPhones. This means your iPhone will soon be able to connect to satellites for better coverage, even in remote areas. The latest iOS update, 18.3, which rolled out on Monday, reportedly includes this feature—though Apple hasn’t exactly talked about it in their release notes.

Right now, iPhones use Apple’s own satellite service, but it’s pretty basic—just emergency calls, texting, and location sharing.

Starlink, on the other hand, provides satellite internet across 100+ countries. It’s even been used in the Russia-Ukraine war and during California wildfire rescue efforts. So, if Apple fully integrates Starlink, we might actually be able to use satellite internet for regular calls, texts, or even browsing when we do not have an active internet connection on our iPhone either through Wifi or mobile data. But Apple hasn’t confirmed that yet.

SpaceX and T-Mobile have been working on this kind of satellite connection for years, and recent reports suggest that beta testing is about to begin. So, could this mean iPhone users will soon have supercharged satellite connectivity? Maybe!

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Ankita Chakravarti
first published: Jan 29, 2025 12:30 pm

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