Apple iPhone 17 Pro — will iPhone 18 Pro have improved satellite connectivity built into its hardware?
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The three phones expected, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and Apple’s first folding phone, perhaps called the iPhone Ultra, a rumored to contain a new Apple-branded modem, the Apple C2.
If the mention of a modem is enough for your eyes to glaze over, hold on, it is interesting, honest.
Apple’s Custom C2 Modem To Replace Qualcomm
“In addition to providing 5G cellular connectivity (replacing Qualcomm modems), C2 will also support 5G over satellite,” 9to5Mac reported.”Specifically, C2 is said to offer 5G NR-NTN. This ‘New Radio Non-Terrestrial Networks’ technology integrates satellite connectivity with 5G cellular.”
Is 5G NR-NTN Satellite Technology A Game-Changer?
If correct, this would mean Apple’s full satellite services would finally catch up with the features offered by Starlink to carriers such as T-Mobile, which one analyst described as a “game-changer.”
When T-Mobile launched its service last year, podcaster Mario Nawfal said on X, “Game-changer: Apple quietly adds Starlink to iPhones…giving users an alternative to their Globalstar service for off-grid communication. The key difference? No more pointing your phone at the sky – Starlink works right from your pocket.”
To be clear, the addition of this service did not install Starlink on iPhones, it meant that the carrier, T-Mobile, enabled the capability to access Starlink. It didn’t work for iPhones on other networks, unless they signed up to the T-Satellite contract.
Seamless, Automatic Off-Grid Connectivity
The new modem could mean that users will have more comprehensive access to satellites, though in Apple’s case to Globalstar rather than Starlink.
“One benefit of 5G NR-NTN is that users may not need to manually point their iPhone at a satellite anymore,” 9to5Mac went on, adding, “The new technology could enable iPhone 18 Pro to automatically fall back to a satellite connection when cell coverage is poor.
The word “game-changer” is over-used, for sure, but effortless satellite connectivity becoming second-nature on the iPhone, whichever carrier you’re with, may qualify.
