The satellite texting feature is easy enough to deploy across North America because the US and Canada have no restrictions on free speech, but I doubt that it will ever be deployed across Asia or the Middle East because it's outside the reach of the "Great IT Wall" that many countries have built. It would bypass government control on communications. Since satellites cannot pinpoint which side of a border you are on, they can't respect the wishes of dictators to block data from their countries. And since Apple is paying for the service, it is Apple who would get in trouble with the dictatorships.
Unless perhaps the satellite texting capability does not support iMessage, and the satellite data is all unencrypted for the world to see. Then maybe dictatorships won't object. But if so, then Apple seems to be contradicting its oft-stated belief that "privacy is a fundamental human right." This will get harder to defend as the size of the satellite text messages increase over the next ten years, because Apple will find itself under pressure to encrypt those messages.
I don’t think text messaging like in imessage is possible. Only contacting emergency response people.
And its only available in the US/Canada.
Your statement that text messaging is not possible seems incorrect, because in the Apple keynote, the satellite app displays the phrase "opening Messages" (the app) and then you can see text bubbles that look (and sound!) exactly like the Messages app in iOS. Except that the outgoing chat bubbles are grey. So I infer from the video that text messages are allowed. But I don't know how it works yet.
Apple's livestream announcement said that it uses custom text compression along with canned responses. If the phone has good line of sight to a satellite, a text message will take on order minutes. If the phone doesn't have good line of sight, it could take on order tens of minutes to hours.
The canned messages obviously doesn't send the actual message, like sound and the actual text. It's just some minimum bit-depth number, the code, and when a phone receives it, it will play the canned response for that code that's already on the receiver phone.
And, it will also send GPS coordinates as one of those canned responses. That's just 3 numbers, possibly 4: time, latitude, longitude, and maybe altitude.
As for why it is in USA and Canada first, it's likely because Apple has gotten approvals for this type of functionality from these countries first, including the relay stations for the signal, and Apple can advertise the full service, like rescue crews. This is pretty standard operating procedure for an USA company. It will make it to other countries eventually assuming they have the relay stations and rescue crews, including China, and even Russia if the sanctions are lifted, which looks to be no time soon. I don't know what those countries are going to do about it though. It's satellite. The only thing lacking would be the rescue response and the accordant local relays, but the data transmission should work. Apple and the satellite company would have to have a GPS, feo-fence filter on it to prevent it from working.
Each GPS number will require about 7-8 decimal digits, right? Eg, "123.4567,234.5678,345.6789,456.7890". That's an awful lot of data, which you can't compress bitwise because it's random/real number data. Are you saying that this service won't function at all if your iPhone doesn't have your GPS location, such as what might happen if you are stuck between two big rocks? Or are you saying that GPS is optional? It would be a horrible shame if GPS was mandatory, because sometimes the location of the victim is already known from other sources, and adding that much unneeded data to a message before it can be sent could block the message.
You seemed to have no comment on my main concern, which is that the service bypasses the Great Firewalls of many countries, and therefore it would be prohibited. As we can see from the Apple keynote, users can type messages in a free format, which is exactly what dictatorships don't want to see.
The satellite texting feature is easy enough to deploy across North America because the US and Canada have no restrictions on free speech, but I doubt that it will ever be deployed across Asia or the Middle East because it's outside the reach of the "Great IT Wall" that many countries have built. It would bypass government control on communications. Since satellites cannot pinpoint which side of a border you are on, they can't respect the wishes of dictators to block data from their countries. And since Apple is paying for the service, it is Apple who would get in trouble with the dictatorships.
Unless perhaps the satellite texting capability does not support iMessage, and the satellite data is all unencrypted for the world to see. Then maybe dictatorships won't object. But if so, then Apple seems to be contradicting its oft-stated belief that "privacy is a fundamental human right." This will get harder to defend as the size of the satellite text messages increase over the next ten years, because Apple will find itself under pressure to encrypt those messages.
I don’t think text messaging like in imessage is possible. Only contacting emergency response people.
And its only available in the US/Canada.
Your statement that text messaging is not possible seems incorrect, because in the Apple keynote, the satellite app displays the phrase "opening Messages" (the app) and then you can see text bubbles that look (and sound!) exactly like the Messages app in iOS. Except that the outgoing chat bubbles are grey. So I infer from the video that text messages are allowed. But I don't know how it works yet.
Apple's livestream announcement said that it uses custom text compression along with canned responses. If the phone has good line of sight to a satellite, a text message will take on order minutes. If the phone doesn't have good line of sight, it could take on order tens of minutes to hours.
The canned messages obviously doesn't send the actual message, like sound and the actual text. It's just some minimum bit-depth number, the code, and when a phone receives it, it will play the canned response for that code that's already on the receiver phone.
And, it will also send GPS coordinates as one of those canned responses. That's just 3 numbers, possibly 4: time, latitude, longitude, and maybe altitude.
As for why it is in USA and Canada first, it's likely because Apple has gotten approvals for this type of functionality from these countries first, including the relay stations for the signal, and Apple can advertise the full service, like rescue crews. This is pretty standard operating procedure for an USA company. It will make it to other countries eventually assuming they have the relay stations and rescue crews, including China, and even Russia if the sanctions are lifted, which looks to be no time soon. I don't know what those countries are going to do about it though. It's satellite. The only thing lacking would be the rescue response and the accordant local relays, but the data transmission should work. Apple and the satellite company would have to have a GPS, feo-fence filter on it to prevent it from working.
Each GPS number will require about 7-8 decimal digits, right? Eg, "123.4567,234.5678,345.6789,456.7890". That's an awful lot of data, which you can't compress bitwise because it's random/real number data. Are you saying that this service won't function at all if your iPhone doesn't have your GPS location, such as what might happen if you are stuck between two big rocks? Or are you saying that GPS is optional? It would be a horrible shame if GPS was mandatory, because sometimes the location of the victim is already known from other sources, and adding that much unneeded data to a message before it can be sent could block the message.
You seemed to have no comment on my main concern, which is that the service bypasses the Great Firewalls of many countries, and therefore it would be prohibited. As we can see from the Apple keynote, users can type messages in a free format, which is exactly what dictatorships don't want to see.
It is for emergency use only. You have to start an emergency call first in a no cell/Wifi area. Support page. Encrypted from the phone to Apple. Not available from phones bought in China. GPS coordinates are sent, it is like three floating point numbers which isn't bad. You will have GPS anyhow as you have to be out in the open to interact with the satellite.
Nice. I’m amazed by the crash detection and satellite SOS. But my 11 has a lot of life left in it.
Concur. My Xr has a lot of life in it...less the problematic lightning port. Maybe a deal pops up in a few months, but Im not a launch day customer for this iteration.
Each GPS number will require about 7-8 decimal digits, right? Eg, "123.4567,234.5678,345.6789,456.7890". That's an awful lot of data
You have an odd idea about what "an awful lot of data" is. You're talking about around 6 bytes for a GPS co-ordinate.
I'd be surprised if GPS coordinates are sent as floating point. Floating point is imprecise and could lead to bad coordinates. I'd expect a fixed point format. Since its fixed and only digits you can encode the digits in a few bits each. A 6 digit fixed place coordinate can be done easily in 3 bytes.
I wonder which satellite fleet they are partnering with for the SOS feature? There’s, I think, three right now under construction. I wonder how much it will cost after the two year free deal ends? Will it be by month, or by call? As they say the devil is in the details.
GlobalStar, the ones who do the SPOT hiking messengers. There tend to be a variety of plans, I’ve a monthly Garmin InReach plan but there’s others. Often there’s a standard plan and extras are simply billed on that. Such as tracking to a sharable website.
The satellite texting feature is easy enough to deploy across North America because the US and Canada have no restrictions on free speech, but I doubt that it will ever be deployed across Asia or the Middle East because it's outside the reach of the "Great IT Wall" that many countries have built. It would bypass government control on communications. Since satellites cannot pinpoint which side of a border you are on, they can't respect the wishes of dictators to block data from their countries. And since Apple is paying for the service, it is Apple who would get in trouble with the dictatorships.
Unless perhaps the satellite texting capability does not support iMessage, and the satellite data is all unencrypted for the world to see. Then maybe dictatorships won't object. But if so, then Apple seems to be contradicting its oft-stated belief that "privacy is a fundamental human right." This will get harder to defend as the size of the satellite text messages increase over the next ten years, because Apple will find itself under pressure to encrypt those messages.
I don’t think text messaging like in imessage is possible. Only contacting emergency response people.
And its only available in the US/Canada.
Your statement that text messaging is not possible seems incorrect, because in the Apple keynote, the satellite app displays the phrase "opening Messages" (the app) and then you can see text bubbles that look (and sound!) exactly like the Messages app in iOS. Except that the outgoing chat bubbles are grey. So I infer from the video that text messages are allowed. But I don't know how it works yet.
Apple's livestream announcement said that it uses custom text compression along with canned responses. If the phone has good line of sight to a satellite, a text message will take on order minutes. If the phone doesn't have good line of sight, it could take on order tens of minutes to hours.
The canned messages obviously doesn't send the actual message, like sound and the actual text. It's just some minimum bit-depth number, the code, and when a phone receives it, it will play the canned response for that code that's already on the receiver phone.
And, it will also send GPS coordinates as one of those canned responses. That's just 3 numbers, possibly 4: time, latitude, longitude, and maybe altitude.
As for why it is in USA and Canada first, it's likely because Apple has gotten approvals for this type of functionality from these countries first, including the relay stations for the signal, and Apple can advertise the full service, like rescue crews. This is pretty standard operating procedure for an USA company. It will make it to other countries eventually assuming they have the relay stations and rescue crews, including China, and even Russia if the sanctions are lifted, which looks to be no time soon. I don't know what those countries are going to do about it though. It's satellite. The only thing lacking would be the rescue response and the accordant local relays, but the data transmission should work. Apple and the satellite company would have to have a GPS, feo-fence filter on it to prevent it from working.
Each GPS number will require about 7-8 decimal digits, right? Eg, "123.4567,234.5678,345.6789,456.7890". That's an awful lot of data, which you can't compress bitwise because it's random/real number data. Are you saying that this service won't function at all if your iPhone doesn't have your GPS location, such as what might happen if you are stuck between two big rocks? Or are you saying that GPS is optional? It would be a horrible shame if GPS was mandatory, because sometimes the location of the victim is already known from other sources, and adding that much unneeded data to a message before it can be sent could block the message.
You seemed to have no comment on my main concern, which is that the service bypasses the Great Firewalls of many countries, and therefore it would be prohibited. As we can see from the Apple keynote, users can type messages in a free format, which is exactly what dictatorships don't want to see.
It's going to be 24 to 32 bit binary numbers, not actual text strings. It will need to have GPS to even have shot of a rescue crew finding you, and GPS works without cell signals. If you had a map app with a map on the device, not downloaded, a phone will show you where you are on the map, even without cell signals, because GPS is separate from cell signals. GPS is satellite, just one way. The iPhone 14 satellite feature can send data using a different set of satellites, just at hyper low data rates.
The GPS coordinates need to be at least in the 6th decimal place to have a shot of locating you within a few hundred feet. So, it has to be something like 24 bit sized words or larger.
The SOS feature is satellite. It will work anywhere in the world as long as you have satellite line of sight. Work as in you could send a really short message anywhere in the world. The rescue services however, well, that requires some coordinate and approvals from governments, just like selling a phone with this or that feature being regulated. I don't see any reason whatsoever for why any country on the planet would find this feature bad, as you aren't going to be carrying a conversation with it. Some people are irrational and may not approve the feature, but that's really not that different from any other feature on the phone. They are all subject to this or that regulation.
Getting rid of the SIM tray is a stupid move. In a world of open standards, where SIM cards are still used everywhere in the world, why move to esims only? The old model where you had both esim and physical SIM tray was the best option and gave customers choice. Apple's reasoning around multiple esims and security is nonsense. They could have multiple esims and a physical SIM tray if they wanted. If people wanted security then use an esim, if they wanted convenience then use their physical SIM card. I wonder if this move is related to Apple bowing to pressure from US carriers who don't want people to avoid roaming costs by using a local country SIM card when they travel? If so, it opens up another antitrust issue that Apple could do without.
Did you say same when they rid of the Head phone jack? ESIM is the future, every company and country will follow
The satellite texting feature is easy enough to deploy across North America because the US and Canada have no restrictions on free speech, but I doubt that it will ever be deployed across Asia or the Middle East because it's outside the reach of the "Great IT Wall" that many countries have built. It would bypass government control on communications. Since satellites cannot pinpoint which side of a border you are on, they can't respect the wishes of dictators to block data from their countries. And since Apple is paying for the service, it is Apple who would get in trouble with the dictatorships.
Unless perhaps the satellite texting capability does not support iMessage, and the satellite data is all unencrypted for the world to see. Then maybe dictatorships won't object. But if so, then Apple seems to be contradicting its oft-stated belief that "privacy is a fundamental human right." This will get harder to defend as the size of the satellite text messages increase over the next ten years, because Apple will find itself under pressure to encrypt those messages.
I don’t think text messaging like in imessage is possible. Only contacting emergency response people.
And its only available in the US/Canada.
Yes, you are probably right that texting services are limited to emergency services, but that doesn't contradict anything I said. It will still be prohibited by dictatorships, right? And it's probably unencrypted, right?
Since the relay service will be built by Apple, most probably it will consist of some sort of byte-code. So your dream of ultimate guerilla-warfare smartphone may be postponed to another century.
Each GPS number will require about 7-8 decimal digits, right? Eg, "123.4567,234.5678,345.6789,456.7890". That's an awful lot of data
You have an odd idea about what "an awful lot of data" is. You're talking about around 6 bytes for a GPS co-ordinate.
Yes, but 6 bytes provides less resolution, and only provides Lat/Long, whereas I was responding to the poster who wanted a four-number GPS value. If you were responding to his post you would need at least 12 bytes.
Getting rid of the SIM tray is a stupid move. In a world of open standards, where SIM cards are still used everywhere in the world, why move to esims only? The old model where you had both esim and physical SIM tray was the best option and gave customers choice. Apple's reasoning around multiple esims and security is nonsense. They could have multiple esims and a physical SIM tray if they wanted. If people wanted security then use an esim, if they wanted convenience then use their physical SIM card. I wonder if this move is related to Apple bowing to pressure from US carriers who don't want people to avoid roaming costs by using a local country SIM card when they travel? If so, it opens up another antitrust issue that Apple could do without.
Did you say same when they rid of the Head phone jack? ESIM is the future, every company and country will follow
Well, the 2.5mm jack is still alive and well, so the ‘future’ argument is wearing a bit thin.
More to the point on eSIMs, the international versions still have a SIM tray, so it’s really not an issue.
Getting rid of the SIM tray is a stupid move. In a world of open standards, where SIM cards are still used everywhere in the world, why move to esims only? The old model where you had both esim and physical SIM tray was the best option and gave customers choice. Apple's reasoning around multiple esims and security is nonsense. They could have multiple esims and a physical SIM tray if they wanted. If people wanted security then use an esim, if they wanted convenience then use their physical SIM card. I wonder if this move is related to Apple bowing to pressure from US carriers who don't want people to avoid roaming costs by using a local country SIM card when they travel? If so, it opens up another antitrust issue that Apple could do without.
ESIM is the future, every company and country will follow
The problem is the future isn't now. For example, Mint Mobile does not currently support eSIMs. Their customers cannot upgrade to iPhone 14 models without switching carriers.
And if you travel with an eSIM-only handset another country, you are forced to only select from carriers that support eSIMs. So fewer overall choices than before with no concrete benefit to the user.
The eSIM-only phone will be less of an issue when most of the world's carriers support the technology but we aren't there yet and it's not going to change overnight.
They're way too big. Even my 12 mini is way bigger than I need. I don't need a laptop in my pocket. The iPhone 4 size was perfect.
Agreed. I moved from 1st gen SE to the 12 Mini and found the latter shockingly large. It is too large always to take with me so it often gets left on its charging stand.
Perhaps Apple is trying to drive us to wearable phones? I won't be interested in the Watch until its battery life is measured in years, not hours, ideally entirely solar-powered.
If I wanted a huge phone, I would just buy an iPad and have the benefit of not being interrupted by calls.
Getting rid of the SIM tray is a stupid move. In a world of open standards, where SIM cards are still used everywhere in the world, why move to esims only? The old model where you had both esim and physical SIM tray was the best option and gave customers choice. Apple's reasoning around multiple esims and security is nonsense. They could have multiple esims and a physical SIM tray if they wanted. If people wanted security then use an esim, if they wanted convenience then use their physical SIM card. I wonder if this move is related to Apple bowing to pressure from US carriers who don't want people to avoid roaming costs by using a local country SIM card when they travel? If so, it opens up another antitrust issue that Apple could do without.
If the phone is unlocked, you can have as many eSIMs as you like and eSIMs are available in every territory the World over. Physical SIM trays are fiddly, a potential source of water ingress or mechanical weakness, take up unnecessary space and feel very old tech. I am surprised Apple hasn't jettisoned them entirely by now.
Many commenters seem to assume that satellite signals can be had anywhere, anytime, globally.
Typically communications satellites are geosynchronous; they appear stationary to us from the ground. This way the uplink stations don't have to have directional tracking antennas. Most TV, telephone, and Internet systems are this way (think Dish Network, DirecTV, HugesNet, ViaSat, etc.). Even my Starlink dish stays pointing in one direction, even though their satellites are much closer in Low Earth Orbit.
If you don't have a bird (satellite) covering a particular country, that service won't work in that place.
Some providers may have birds moving in non-geosynchronous orbits (i.e. north-south or at various sloping angles, faster or slower than the earth spins, etc.), so in those cases, you'd have a store-and-forward messaging system. SpaceX alluded to this being the case for how their collaboration with T-Mobile might work. In that case, while their service could technically work anywhere in the world, they're beholden to regulatory bodies when transmitting on licensed frequencies in International air space. And again, the birds need to communicate with the ground at some point to pass the messages on.
Many commenters seem to assume that satellite signals can be had anywhere, anytime, globally.
Typically communications satellites are geosynchronous; they appear stationary to us from the ground. This way the uplink stations don't have to have directional tracking antennas. Most TV, telephone, and Internet systems are this way (think Dish Network, DirecTV, HugesNet, ViaSat, etc.). Even my Starlink dish stays pointing in one direction, even though their satellites are much closer in Low Earth Orbit.
If you don't have a bird (satellite) covering a particular country, that service won't work in that place.
Some providers may have birds moving in non-geosynchronous orbits (i.e. north-south or at various sloping angles, faster or slower than the earth spins, etc.), so in those cases, you'd have a store-and-forward messaging system. SpaceX alluded to this being the case for how their collaboration with T-Mobile might work. In that case, while their service could technically work anywhere in the world, they're beholden to regulatory bodies when transmitting on licensed frequencies in International air space. And again, the birds need to communicate with the ground at some point to pass the messages on.
This type of service, satellite phone service, is provided by a 50 to 100+ satellites in a low Earth orbit. GlobalStar, Irridium, et al. GPS, GLONASS same way but their signaling is one-way. About 200 to 500 miles above the surface of the Earth, in a multitude of orbits from polar to equatorial. Geosynchronous satellites are 22,000 miles above the surface of the Earth in equatorial orbits. 22k miles will be a challenge for something the size of a phone. 200 to 2000 miles, much more reasonable for something the size of a cell phone, which is amply demonstrated by the satellite phones in existence for 2 decades now.
The key regulatory bottleneck for this type of service will be in the ground relay stations that take the satellite signals and relay to a mobile service and go to emergency services. Notionally, a government can say that the satellite provider is prohibited from using the spectrum utilized by the service, but that is like saying people are prohibited from using light. They can regulate the relay stations and the relay spectrum, so a message won't be serviced inside the country. That message however will go to wherever their are relay stations and forwarded to the destination/client.
I'm still unsure of a message going between satellite clients: sat phone to sat phone. Apple will have to pay for such a service from the satellite provider, so, it isn't going to be free. I can see SOS and Find My being free for iPhone buyers, but 2-way comm, no way.
Each GPS number will require about 7-8 decimal digits, right? Eg, "123.4567,234.5678,345.6789,456.7890". That's an awful lot of data
You have an odd idea about what "an awful lot of data" is. You're talking about around 6 bytes for a GPS co-ordinate.
Yes, but 6 bytes provides less resolution, and only provides Lat/Long, whereas I was responding to the poster who wanted a four-number GPS value. If you were responding to his post you would need at least 12 bytes.
Round up to 100 bytes if you want, it's still nowhere near "an awful lot of data".
Comments
You seemed to have no comment on my main concern, which is that the service bypasses the Great Firewalls of many countries, and therefore it would be prohibited. As we can see from the Apple keynote, users can type messages in a free format, which is exactly what dictatorships don't want to see.
The GPS coordinates need to be at least in the 6th decimal place to have a shot of locating you within a few hundred feet. So, it has to be something like 24 bit sized words or larger.
The SOS feature is satellite. It will work anywhere in the world as long as you have satellite line of sight. Work as in you could send a really short message anywhere in the world. The rescue services however, well, that requires some coordinate and approvals from governments, just like selling a phone with this or that feature being regulated. I don't see any reason whatsoever for why any country on the planet would find this feature bad, as you aren't going to be carrying a conversation with it. Some people are irrational and may not approve the feature, but that's really not that different from any other feature on the phone. They are all subject to this or that regulation.
And if you travel with an eSIM-only handset another country, you are forced to only select from carriers that support eSIMs. So fewer overall choices than before with no concrete benefit to the user.
The eSIM-only phone will be less of an issue when most of the world's carriers support the technology but we aren't there yet and it's not going to change overnight.
Perhaps Apple is trying to drive us to wearable phones? I won't be interested in the Watch until its battery life is measured in years, not hours, ideally entirely solar-powered.
If I wanted a huge phone, I would just buy an iPad and have the benefit of not being interrupted by calls.
Typically communications satellites are geosynchronous; they appear stationary to us from the ground. This way the uplink stations don't have to have directional tracking antennas. Most TV, telephone, and Internet systems are this way (think Dish Network, DirecTV, HugesNet, ViaSat, etc.). Even my Starlink dish stays pointing in one direction, even though their satellites are much closer in Low Earth Orbit.
If you don't have a bird (satellite) covering a particular country, that service won't work in that place.
Some providers may have birds moving in non-geosynchronous orbits (i.e. north-south or at various sloping angles, faster or slower than the earth spins, etc.), so in those cases, you'd have a store-and-forward messaging system. SpaceX alluded to this being the case for how their collaboration with T-Mobile might work. In that case, while their service could technically work anywhere in the world, they're beholden to regulatory bodies when transmitting on licensed frequencies in International air space. And again, the birds need to communicate with the ground at some point to pass the messages on.
The key regulatory bottleneck for this type of service will be in the ground relay stations that take the satellite signals and relay to a mobile service and go to emergency services. Notionally, a government can say that the satellite provider is prohibited from using the spectrum utilized by the service, but that is like saying people are prohibited from using light. They can regulate the relay stations and the relay spectrum, so a message won't be serviced inside the country. That message however will go to wherever their are relay stations and forwarded to the destination/client.
I'm still unsure of a message going between satellite clients: sat phone to sat phone. Apple will have to pay for such a service from the satellite provider, so, it isn't going to be free. I can see SOS and Find My being free for iPhone buyers, but 2-way comm, no way.