Qualcomm’s plan to offer a satellite SOS feature for Android phones, known as Snapdragon Satellite, has been abandoned just 10 months after being announced. The feature, developed in partnership with Iridium, was meant to rival Apple’s Emergency SOS feature on the iPhone 14, which allows users to connect with emergency services or request roadside assistance over a satellite network when regular cellular service is unavailable.
Iridium announced that Qualcomm terminated the partnership due to the lack of interest from smartphone manufacturers. Although the feature had been successfully developed and demonstrated, no smartphone maker signed up to use it, leading to its demise. Qualcomm expressed its intent to continue working with Iridium on “standards-based solutions” to satellite connectivity, hinting that they may still pursue satellite connectivity features for Android phones in the future, despite the initial setback.
One of the potential reasons for the failure of Snapdragon Satellite to gain traction was the issue of payment for access to satellite networks. Since the system would have placed Qualcomm in the middle of these payments, smartphone makers may have been hesitant to offer a service that was ultimately managed by Qualcomm. This hesitation may have influenced Qualcomm’s decision to explore a standards-based approach to satellite connectivity, allowing smartphone manufacturers to have more control over their relationship with satellite companies.
Google was also found to be working on building support for emergency satellite services into Android, indicating that the interest in satellite connectivity features for smartphones remains high.
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At the same time, while satellite connectivity is now available in all new iPhones, Apple has yet to prove the demand for the service. As of now, Apple is covering the costs, so the true demand for satellite connectivity remains to be seen when users start having to pay for the service. However, Iridium remains hopeful that phone makers will eventually come around and believes that this is a feature that users will want.
It’s unclear if the failure of Snapdragon Satellite was due to a lack of demand from consumers or hesitation from smartphone manufacturers. Price may have played a significant role in the lack of interest, as users will eventually have to pay for access to satellite communications on their devices.
Additionally, despite the setback with Snapdragon Satellite, Iridium expressed its intentions to re-engage with smartphone OEMs, other chipmakers, and smartphone operating system developers in the hopes of reviving interest in satellite connectivity features for Android phones. Iridium remains optimistic that this is a feature users will eventually want, indicating that there is still potential for satellite connectivity to become a sought-after feature in the smartphone market.
