After The Surprise Iphone 14 Feature, Samsung Aims For Satellite-Supported Smartphone Chips

On Thursday, Samsung announced that it has created a technology that will let smartphone users to communicate data via satellite, escalating the competition among tech firms to link phones to extraterrestrial networks.

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The South Korean consumer electronics behemoth's new modem technology will permit two-way texting in addition to the sharing of pictures and movies. Before the data reaches end users, it is transferred to low-Earth orbit satellites in space and returned to Earth-based stations.

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Samsung's satellite capabilities have not yet been made public. To suggest a move to integrate the system into its Galaxy handsets, the company stated that it intends to integrate the technology into its Exynos mobile processors.

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This month, Samsung introduced its premium Galaxy S23 smartphone line without satellite connectivity.

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The action was taken shortly after Apple unveiled the iPhone 14, which includes a feature that enables users to alert emergency personnel by pointing their phones at a satellite in space and selecting from a number of problems they are experiencing.

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Satellite phones are still not a widely used commercial technology. Device manufacturers are counting on the untapped potential of giving people in rural locations who are outside the range of terrestrial telecoms infrastructure access to satellite phones.

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According to Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, "emergency satellite messaging is becoming a default feature on luxury handsets with Samsung joining the party."

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This demonstrates the significant impact Apple has on the uptake of new features. Where Apple goes with new technologies, others will follow.

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After the September release of Apple's iPhone 14, American semiconductor behemoth Qualcomm inked a contract with Iridium, a satellite communications company to enable processors for satellites in Android phones. The Taiwanese chip manufacturing company MediaTek is anticipated to present its own mobile satellite technology at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona the following week.

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Since Samsung's technology adheres to 3GPP standards, it will "guarantee interoperability and scalability among services offered by global telecom operators, mobile device makers, and chip firms," according to Samsung.

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Additionally, according to Samsung, the gadget will "remove the need for a separate high-power wireless antenna chip within cellphones." Since they often require enormous antennae embedded right into the device, satellite phones have been in development for decades but have not yet gained widespread adoption.

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