iPhone 13 may already be satellite-ready

August 29, 2022

Just before the launch of the iPhone 13 last year, it was rumored that the handset would connect to low-Earth-orbit satellites for emergency communications.

Sound familiar?

Yeah, the big rumor about satellite communications coming to iPhones -- supposedly a marquee feature of this year's models -- first surfaced in 2021 before the launch of the 13.

It didn't happen last year strictly for business reasons, says Ming-Chi Kuo, a trusted analyst who often gets Apple rumors right.

That could mean your iPhone 13 is ready to talk to the stars -- it just hasn't been turned on yet. According to Kuo, the only thing necessary is a custom version of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X60 5G modem, which the iPhone 13 already has.

So, if Apple announces satellite communications on September 7, there's a chance the 13 will come along for the ride -- unless Tim Cook disables it as a premium feature reserved only for the new devices.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

It might not be necessary to buy an iPhone 14 to get the upcoming model’s rumored satellite communication capabilities. Apple’s 2021 handset reportedly has the hardware to pull off this feature – it’s just not activated.

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Tweet o' the day

One more thing ...

"Funny enough, 20 years after we started Apple, there was nobody building computers for people again. You know? They were trying to sell consumers last year's corporate computers. We said, 'Well, these are our roots. This is why we're here. The world doesn't need another Dell or Compaq. They need an Apple.'" -- Steve Jobs.

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