This iPhone Feature You’ll Pray You Never Need Is Still Free
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While Apple is still reserving the right to eventually charge for its satellite connectivity services, we’re beginning to wonder if that day will ever come.
During yesterday’s “Awe Dropping” event, Apple introduced satellite connectivity to its wearables, adding it to the Apple Watch Ultra 3. The company also quietly announced that older devices will receive an extension, providing free access to the feature for another year.
Apple debuted Emergency SOS via satellite in 2022 with the launch of the iPhone 14 lineup, using a constellation of satellites that it had launched in partnership with Globalstar. Since putting satellites in orbit costs hundreds of millions of dollars, Apple didn’t want to promise its customers satellite access in perpetuity, so the iPhone 14 came with two years of free access.
While the company didn’t say what would happen when those two years were up, it seemed clear that it was leaving itself open to eventually charge for access through a subscription service, similar to what others like Garmin have done for years.
When the iPhone 15 launched in September 2023 with a similar two-year offer, it seemed even more likely that Apple’s strategy was to give free access for new devices, but eventually charge those who weren’t upgrading regularly. However, that November, Apple announced that iPhone 14 users would receive another free year, extending their satellite access until at least November 2025, since the feature initially launched with iOS 16.2 in November 2022.
As Apple continued to add more satellite features, including Roadside Assistance in iOS 17 and Messages via satellite in iOS 18, it seemed more likely that it would eventually begin charging for access to at least some of these.
While we’d understand Apple’s reluctance to put a paywall around a life-saving feature like Emergency SOS, charging for regular SMS messages seems like fair game considering it’s what the rest of the market does.
Still, Apple tries to lead the market, and while the day may come that we pay for satellite access from our iPhones and Apple Watches, that won’t be any time soon, as the company is giving away yet another free year:
Apple is extending free access to satellite features for an additional year for existing iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users. The free trial will be extended for iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users who have activated their device in a country that supports Apple’s satellite features prior to 12 a.m. PT on September 9, 2025.
This extension means that iPhone 14 users who have had satellite access since the beginning will now be covered until at least November 2026, since the previous offer already ran through November 2025. Meanwhile, those who bought an iPhone 15 on launch day will be covered until September 22, 2026.
Those are the earliest dates that free satellite coverage is now set to expire for iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users, but everyone will get another full year based on the date they purchased their iPhone. That takes us to three years of satellite access for iPhone 15 users, and four years of access for iPhone 14 users.
Meanwhile, iPhone 16 buyers are about to enter their second year of free satellite service, and iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone Air, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 buyers will receive two full years of service from their date of purchase, taking them into 2027.
Of course, this all presumes that Apple doesn’t repeat this next year to tack on another year of free satellite services. The company may be merely biding its time until it has more to offer, as even Messages via satellite could be considered a vital emergency link. Code references found in iOS 26 suggest that Apple is working on weather reports via satellite, but we have to assume it’s not ready to roll that out just yet, as we didn’t hear a peep about it during this week’s event, despite seeming like a nearly perfect companion for the new Apple Watch Ultra 3.
