Since Apple introduced emergency satellite connectivity to its iPhone 14 models last year, Qualcomm has developed a satellite messaging service for Android as well. At CES Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Satellite for Android. It is a two-way satellite messaging service that will be available on “next-generation premium android smartphones”.

As a result of a partnership with Iridium, one of the world’s leading Low Earth orbit satellite constellations, this service is possible. Globalstar, Apple’s partner for its service, is one of its main competitors. As Qualcomm clearly states, Snapdragon Satellite will not just be for emergencies, but also “recreation in remote, rural, and offshore locations,” including two-way messaging for emergencies, SMS texting, and “other messaging applications”.

In the second half of 2023, Snapdragon Satellite emergency messaging will be available on next-generation smartphones that feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. It will be available on all Snapdragon Satellite-enabled devices, including laptops, tablets, cars, and IoT devices. OEMs and app developers can use satellite connectivity to provide unique branded services for their products.Snapdragon Satellite will support 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) as they become available.

Garmin will also collaborate with Qualcomm with support for emergency messaging. Vice president of Garmin’s outdoor segment Brad Trenkle, said “Garmin welcomes the opportunity to expand our proven satellite emergency response services to millions of new smartphone users globally. Garmin Response supports thousands of SOS incidents each year and has likely saved many lives in the process, and we are looking forward to collaborating with Qualcomm Technologies and Iridium to help people connect to emergency services no matter where life takes them”.