Ever since the launch of iPhone 14, Apple has supported satellite text messaging for emergency situations. It sounds like the competition will get an even better version of that soon.
In a teardown of a new beta version of Android 15, 9to5Google found some text strings that give us an idea of how satellite messaging might work. The feature was first uncovered in beta builds last month, but now we have more information about what to expect from it. The text strings include:
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“You can message with anyone, including emergency services”
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“To send and receive, stay outside with a clear view of the sky”
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“Satellite messaging may take longer and can’t include photos & videos”
How Android satellite texting may beat iPhone
The latter two text strings in that list are predictable enough — and more or less reflect what the satellite texting experience is like on iPhone. The first one, however, is a bit of a doozy. On iPhone, you can only message emergency services via satellite. On Android, you might be able to text anyone, if this feature rolls out in this state.
Google has yet to officially announce satellite texting for Android, but it might not be long now. Google I/O, the company’s annual software-focused conference, is right around the corner in May.
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Courtney Milan writes books about carriages, corsets, and smartwatches. Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. She is a New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller.
Courtney pens a weekly newsletter about tea, books, and basically anything and everything else.
Before she started writing romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.
Courtney is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.