Starlink Satellite Connectivity Comes to the iPhone in iOS 18.3

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In 2022, Apple became the first mainstream smartphone maker to add satellite connectivity to its mobile devices, debuting a new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature in the iPhone 14 lineup. Now, it’s taking its satellite features in a new — and arguably more useful — direction with support for the SpaceX Starlink network.
While Apple’s initial Emergency SOS via satellite has expanded to offering roadside assistance and even text messaging, it’s still based on traditional satellite communications services — L-band and S-band frequencies — rather than common cellular technologies like 5G. That has the advantage of giving Apple’s critical satellite features a much wider reach that’s not tied to any carrier or even nation, but it’s also more limited for things like bandwidth.
By contrast, the Starlink network is essentially 5G connectivity that uses satellites instead of terrestrial towers. Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its first network of 60 low-orbit satellites for this purpose in 2019. These were initially designed to provide traditional broadband internet access to remote areas, but by 2021 it was fuelling rumors that we’d see a Tesla Smartphone made to take advantage of it.
However, instead of releasing a smartphone, SpaceX partnered with T-Mobile to bring Starlink connectivity to that carrier’s customers. Using standard cellular frequencies meant that any T-Mobile customer could take advantage of satellite connectivity with no special hardware. It promised to mark “the end of mobile dead zones.”
When the first rumors of iPhone satellite connectivity appeared in 2021, many believed Apple had a similar trick up its sleeve. However, those reports were based on a false assumption: analysts had discovered a new 5G frequency in the iPhone 13 modem chips, band 53, that was licensed exclusively to Globalstar — a satellite company. However, Globalstar also operates private terrestrial LTE and 5G networks and uses band 53 in places like the Port of Seattle and the New York Power Authority. It has nothing to do with satellite communications.
A few weeks later, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed Apple’s less ambitious plans to offer Emergency SOS services via satellite. However, these still didn’t make it into the iPhone 13; we didn’t see them arrive until 2022, and contrary to some optimistic speculation, Apple didn’t even add the necessary hardware to its 2021 iPhone models.
Starlink Comes to iPhone
Now, Gurman reports that Apple has been “secretly working with SpaceX and T-Mobile” to add support for the Starlink network, with the first features arriving in iOS 18.3
The companies have been testing iPhones with the Starlink service from Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., according to people with knowledge of the matter. In an under-the-radar move, the smartphone’s latest software update — released Monday — now supports the technology.
Mark Gurman
Starlink comes as an alternative to Apple’s own satellite network, which is run by Globalstar, but it promises T-Mobile customers even more capabilities when they’re otherwise off the grid. According to Elon Musk, the technology should support not only text messages and conversations but also medium-resolution images, music, and audio podcasts.
Sadly, it looks like this is rolling out in baby steps. It’s still in beta, and while T-Mobile is allowing customers to sign up for an early version, it’s only welcomed a small number of iPhones into the fold.
Those who have been accepted received text messages this week from T-Mobile telling them they’re “in the T-Mobile Starlink beta” and telling them to update to iOS 18.3 to participate.
For now, Starlink is only available for texting, so it’s not much different from Apple’s Messages via satellite in terms of capabilities. However, there’s one important difference: you don’t need to point your iPhone at the sky to find a satellite.
That’s because Starlink has been designed from the start to work like a 5G network. A low-bandwidth 5G network, to be fair, but with enough signal reach and penetration that you can still receive text messages while your iPhone is in your pocket.
Starlink will eventually expand into data connections and voice calls, which Apple’s satellite network likely doesn’t have sufficient bandwidth to pull off. While they’re all considered “low earth orbit” (LEO) satellites, Globalstar’s constellation orbits at nearly 2.5 times the altitude of the Starlink constellation — 876 miles (1,414 kilometers) versus 340 miles (550 kilometers).
Nevertheless, Apple’s Globalstar constellation still has the advantage of a worldwide reach. Starlink is only available in the US and only to T-Mobile customers. That’s because the S-band and L-band satellite frequencies are much less restrictive for international licensing, whereas the 5G frequencies used by Starlink are inherently tied to carriers and subject to the same regulation as those emanating from terrestrial towers.
SpaceX plans to expand Starlink to other carriers globally but still needs to negotiate those deals with each carrier and comply with applicable communications regulations in different countries. While Apple’s Messages via satellite requires carrier participation to gate into the SMS network, Emergency SOS and Roadside Assistant are carrier-agnostic, and depend only on having the proper emergency services on board in each region.