Looks like Apple isn't the only one going after enabling satellite communications! Recently, we saw T-Mobile and SpaceX team up to bring satellite connectivity to people, and Google wants to be part of the effort by equipping the next-gen iteration of Android with the capability. Here are the details.
Android 14 will support satellite connection
After SpaceX and T-Mobile announced the "Coverage Above and Beyond" initiative to enable communication everywhere (especially in remote regions and dead zones), Google's senior vice president of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer, made an exciting announcement.
Via a recent tweet, Lockheimer suggested that Google is also working on the initiative and its next Android version, likely Android 14, will support satellite connectivity. This means you can expect your future Android phone to support satellite connectivity for communication in areas without coverage. Crazy to think about user experiences for phones that can connect to satellites. When we launched the G1 in '08, it was a stretch to get 3G + Wifi working. Now we design for satellites. Cool! We're excited to support our partners in enabling all of this in the next version of Android!— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) September 1, 2022
Crazy to think about user experiences for phones that can connect to satellites. When we launched the G1 in '08, it was a stretch to get 3G + Wifi working. Now we design for satellites. Cool! We're excited to support our partners in enabling all of this in the next version of Android!— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) September 1, 2022
