Emergency SMS for Android coming via Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite
It seems Qualcomm want to extend what it will be offering to the tech community. I mean, we’ve known the brand for its impressive chipset prowess but there’s another thing up its sleeve. Emergency SMS for Android will be coming in via Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite. Let’s take a look at how this new “Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite” came about.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite to bring Emergency SMS
Qualcomm will be partnering with communication firms Iridium and Garmin to pull off this feature. Speaking precisely, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite will enable two-way messaging via SMS in rural areas and places without network coverage. We have a similar feature to this, that’s the emergency SOS messaging with satellite on the iPhone 14.
Well, the new satellite from Qualcomm will respond to smartphones powered by the impressive Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and possibly any other chipset that will be coming after it. The feature integrated into the chip that’s giving it the ability is the Snapdragon X70 modem. That said, OEMs employing the chipset will have to activate the functionality on their smartphones.
Via Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Satellite, you can send out emergency messages and it is worth noting that this message contains up to 160 characters of a custom message unlike that of the iPhone 14 which has some restrictions. Even as we mentioned that OEMs will have to activate the functionality, there will be some skins and aesthetics to the mechanism that will be added.
Bottomline is being able to connect your smartphone to the satellite which is only when you have clear clouds (this might be a limitation). The smartphones that were tested were able to carry out this feat, however, the area wasn’t completely network barred. Unfortunately, if you have a smartphone currently powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, you can’t access the feature. The brand mentioned that it will be available on smartphones by the second half of 2023. Possibly, the price of the service will be communicated as well.