Elon Musk: We've Had Talks With Apple on iPhone-Starlink Connectivity
SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet system could one day expand to Apple iPhones, according to CEO Elon Musk.
Musk mentioned the potential partnership in a Thursday tweet, a day after Apple revealed the upcoming iPhone 14 will feature "Emergency SOS" satellite connectivity. To power the feature, Apple has tapped Globalstar, a provider of satellite communication, including satellite phones.
Someone on Twitter wondered if Apple could one day also rely on SpaceX’s Starlink to power Emergency SOS. In response, Musk wrote(Opens in a new window): “We’ve had some promising conversations with Apple about Starlink connectivity. iPhone team is obv (obviously) super smart.”
A partnership sets up the tantalizing prospect of iPhones not just receiving an emergency SOS service, but also high-speed internet in cellular dead zones through Starlink. However, Musk indicated a key challenge is designing the iPhone to efficiently receive and send signals over Starlink, which currently operates by using orbiting satellites to beam high-speed internet to dishes on the ground.
“For sure, closing link from space to phone will work best if phone software and hardware adapt to space-based signals vs Starlink purely emulating cell tower,” Musk wrote.
For now, Starlink operates as a high-speed satellite internet service largely for residential homes, along with moving ships and planes. This requires the subscriber to buy the dish equipment necessary to receive the high-speed broadband, which isn’t exactly convenient for portable, handheld use. However, SpaceX is working to expand Starlink into a mobile satellite service capable of delivering connectivity to cellular dead zones.
It remains unclear what the mobile Starlink service will look
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