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With the iPhone 14 series announced on September 14 in India, Apple unveiled many features included with the series. iOS 16 was also announced, initially showcased at the WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) event in June 2022. iOS arrived with several new features and improvements to its previous generation, iOS 15, like a redesigned lock screen, new widgets, widgets on the lock screen, iMessage application extra features, battery percentage on the status bar, Clean Energy Charging, etc.
Apart from the above cool features, the iPhone 14 Pro variants got to experience some extra cool features this time. The differentiation from the standard variants (iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus) includes a new chipset, better camera, dual-frequency GPS, Satellite connectivity features, etc. However, American Tech Giant has limited some features to some countries and regions. Satellite Connectivity is one of them.
What is Satellite Connectivity?
To the people not aware of the Satellite Connectivity feature, the feature is designed to allow emergency messages to be sent even when cellular and WiFi connections are unavailable. When you are in an emergency and want to send emergency messages to some relatives or friends, but you are out of range of WiFi or cellular data coverage, the Satellite Connectivity feature will help you there. Apple says that “it was designed for use in open spaces with a clear line of sight to the sky, so performance may be impacted if there are trees or buildings nearby.” So you must be careful where you should try to be as much in an open environment as possible and check if trees, bushes, and buildings do not densely surround you.
It should be noted that using the Satellite Connectivity feature might take time, depending on the abovementioned conditions. The experience differs from sending or receiving messages via cellular or WiFi. When there is a direct view of the sky with no distractions around the horizon, the news might take 15 seconds to deliver. But when some trees or buildings densely surround you, the message might take up to a minute to deliver.
Seeing that users are curious and excited to experience the new Satellite Connectivity feature announced with the series. However, the feature is not available in India currently. For reference, Apple says they will make the feature available in November 2022 but has not mentioned any specific time release date. But we have made some assumptions by which you can know when the feature will be available to test out.
Satellite Connectivity Availability Status for iPhone 14 Pro Devices
Update: Emergency SOS via satellite is available from November 15, 2022, on the iPhone 14 series. The service is available in the US and Canada and will extend to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK in December 2022. iPhone 14 users residing in the US and Canada can connect with emergency services when cellular and Wi-Fi coverage is unavailable.
Apple said in their Support Document, “Emergency SOS via Satellite will be available with an iOS 16 software update coming in November 2022.” which we discovered earlier. To recall, iOS 16.1 was released in October, and iOS 16.2 is expected around mid-December, so iOS 16.1.1 is expected to drive the feature with it. The update is also expected to fix some addressed WiFi connectivity and advertising-related iOS 16 issues.
It should be noted that Apple might charge for using Satellite Connectivity via Emergency SOS after two years. When Apple launched it in the United States and Canada, they said the Satellite Connectivity would be complimentary for the first two years, meaning Apple is planning to charge for the service in the future. Apple also confirmed that the feature will be available to different countries until 2023.
So, if you are waiting for the Satellite Connectivity feature, then you have to wait for the iOS 16.1.1 update, as it might carry the feature with it as per the speculations. Are you waiting to test out Satellite Connectivity via the Emergency SOS feature? Do you want it to be available in India soon? Do tell us in the comments section below.
