THE emergency SOS satellite feature called Snapdragon Satellite made for Android is set to be canceled less than a year after its announcement.
Iridium, a creator of the system announced its cancelation on Thursday because its partnership with Qualcomm did not live up to its side of the deal.
1
Iridium is a satellite communication company and Qualcomm is the maker of the Snapdragon chips that power the best Android phones.
Snapdragon Satellite was announced in January 2023 at the CES convention.
The Android satellite communication service will be officially ended on December 3.
In a press release, Iridium CEO Matt Desch noted that the technology was “successfully developed” – however the tech was never implemented into the newest Android devices.
Therefore, Iridium has decided to back out of its deal with Qualcomm.
“Notwithstanding this technical success, smartphone manufacturers have not included the technology in their devices,” Desch added in the release.
In canceling the partnership, Iridium will be free to re-engage with other smartphone and chipmaker companies along with smartphone operating system developers that it was collaborating with previously.
Desch went into detail about how dropping the partnership was not ideal, but he is confident Iridium will be able to utilize its tech in other circumstances and partnerships.
Most read in News Tech
“While I’m disappointed that this partnership didn’t bear immediate fruit, we believe the direction of the industry is clear toward increased satellite connectivity in consumer devices,” Desch in the release.
“Led by Apple today, MNOs and device manufacturers still plan, over time, to provide their customers with expanded coverage and new satellite-based features, and our global coverage and regulatory certainty make us well suited to be a key player in this emerging market.
“User experience will be critical to their success, and we’ve proven that we can provide a reliable, global capability to mobile users.”
IPHONE SOS FEATURE
The emergency SOS satellite system for Android was inspired by the release of the feature for iPhones in November 2022.
The tech is intended to help people in need of emergency services when they are traveling to places that are off-grid or do not have service.
It is also intended to help people give people access to emergency services that live in rural areas.
When using the feature, it sends signals to emergency services via satellite so that someone can find you.
The feature is only available for iPhone 14 or later and can be found in Settings under “Emergency SOS via satellite.”
“Some of the most popular places to travel are off the beaten path and simply lack cellular coverage. With Emergency SOS via satellite, the iPhone 14 lineup provides an indispensable tool that can get users the help they need while they are off the grid,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing in a statement.
