In order to keep consumers connected wherever they are, there have been rumours that Apple would add satellite capability to the iPhone 14. It now appears that Google has similar ambitions for its software and hardware in 2023.
According to Android's senior vice president Hiroshi Lockheimer (opens in new tab), his team is "designing for satellites" and will "enable all of this in the next version of Android," which will be Android 14 (opens in new tab).
Android 14 should be available in the following year, as Android 13 has just begun to spread out. If software support exists for using satellite networks to access services, then it is likely that this functionality will appear in the Google Pixel 8 sometime in 2023.
initial stages
Lockheimer doesn't go into a lot of depth here, and it's obvious that this is still in its infancy. According to what we've deduced from Apple rumours, satellite connections might be employed in emergency situations in locations without cellular network service.
Only twice have we heard anything regarding Android 14, which will probably be revealed during the Google IO event in May. There was a previous rumour that the operating system had a codename, but that is all we currently know.
Only that development of the Tensor 3 chipset for the Pixel 8 is reportedly already under way has there been much in the way of leaks and rumours concerning the Pixel 8 (the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are anticipated to ship next month).
Analysis: an improvement to communications
This cutting-edge mobile technology hasn't just appeared out of nowhere; it's actually been under development for a number of years at this point. You might recall that satellite connectivity was expected to be coming with the iPhone 13 back in 2021.
Satellite-ready cellphones, however, appear to be gaining steam again as the technology becomes more dependable and less expensive and makes it into models that people can actually purchase.
The concept is that gadgets may connect to the rest of the world by locking on to a satellite in space controlled by a business like Starlink – similar to GPS but for data rather than a location fix. This eliminates the need for devices to locate a cell tower or Wi-Fi network to latch on to.
The next step is to integrate it into smartphones as well, but don't hold your breath for too much too soon: connectivity is probably just going to be available for backup or emergency purposes, so you won't be able to stream videos in the middle of nowhere.
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