Does Apple's latest Emergency SoS feature make it a must-have device

Satellite connectivity is likely to be a challenging game for smartphone manufacturers

The launch of the Apple iPhone 14 and Huawei's Mate 50 will likely become a starter pistol for a new space race--connecting smartphones with satellites to build new features. Experts, however, believe the technology still has miles to go before it can be deployed in the affordable smartphones segment.

On September 7, Apple unveiled a new range of iPhones and watches. The headline feature of the new phone line-up included critical safety capability or Emergency SOS via satellite, which the company claimed was an industry first.

The new technology would "allow phone antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. Satellites are moving targets with low bandwidth, and it can take minutes for messages to get through," the company said.

A day before Apple's event, its far eastern rival, Huawei, launched the Mate 50 smartphone series which allows text messaging via satellite communication. Users can send short texts using China's global BeiDou satellite network, but will not receive messages via the same route.

But, tech experts believe large-scale implementation of satellite connectivity for budget smartphones may be an expensive bid.

"Whatever Apple does, other companies do follow. But Apple has said they have been working to install this technology on the iPhone for years. Following up with this kind of technology by reverse engineering will be hard for any other company. I would predict that it would take another two to three years for anyone to duplicate it," said Sulabh Puri, Group Editor and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gadget Bridge.

Apple said emergency SOS via satellite will be available to users in the US and Canada in November and will be free for two years. Earlier, satellite phones were used in defence communication and by mining companies in remote areas after securing government licenses.

"The satellite phones are bulky phones with a large antenna on top of them. It is like carrying a Wi-Fi router with you everywhere. Cramping all that technology into a 5.8-6.1 inch form factor will be costly. Apple has been working for years to bring the antenna and features in a chipset to fit into iPhone without compromising thickness. The aspects of iPhone 14 are almost the same that of previous iPhones," Puri said.

He added that installing the required hardware in a smartphone and establishing a link with a satellite will significantly increase the costs.

According to media reports, both iPhone 14 and Huawei Mate 50 Pro will likely cost around Rs 77,990 in India.

Faisal Kawoosa, the Chief analyst at Techarc, said, "Such features have previously been used in some high-end luxurious cars for emergencies to connect using satellite and access SOS. But I don't see this as a service for the masses as of now, as costs for establishing satellite links are much beyond the affordability."

Kawoosa said he was doubtful about the efficiency of the feature in countries like India.

"In India, we already had SOS services on smartphones for many years. But the more important thing is the backend of this connectivity, which works with 911 lines designated for emergency calls for US-based users. Our experience of SOS service in India shows that it doesn't work effectively in emergency situations."

Cyber security experts said smartphone satellite connectivity makes them more vulnerable to threat actors.

"Especially when it comes to emergency services, satellites, and emerging Low Earth Orbit communication technologies are high-value targets for adversarial actors. We saw this earlier this year when actors targeting Ukraine used attacks on satellites to take communications channels offline and disrupt services across the country," said Christiaan Beek, Lead Scientist and Senior Principal Engineer at cybersecurity company Trellix.

Beek added that the network and protocol software stack might become more accessible and targeted like any other device on the internet. "Adding millions of consumer mobile devices to these networks increases this risk," he said.