A new report has revealed what satellite messaging on Android phones could look like.
One of the big features mentioned for Android 15 was the support for Satellite messaging. However, while the OS is capable of using the feature, it still requires support from carriers to actually work. Yesterday T-Mobile announced that its satellite messaging service, in collaboration with Starlink, would be going into beta mode. While its eventual release would make it possible to communicate via satellites, we had no idea what the feature would look like, until now.
In a recent report, Android Authority was able to get the satellite connectivity options to appear in the Google Messages app. When activated it appears that the messages app will send a pop-up that encourages users to connect to the satellite to send and receive messages. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be an option to connect to group chats, so they may not be supported.
According to the report, the pop-up will appear as soon as users leave both cellular and WI-FI range, and can be activated with the press of a button. The connection will also be cut as soon as a user gets back into a range of more terrestrial connection sources.
Satellite messaging is one of the more helpful upgrades to smartphone technology in the last few years, with Apple launching Emergency SOS via satellite in 2022 with the iPhone 14 series. This year Apple debuted the ability to send messages via satellite with iOS 18. The advantages are obvious from an emergency perspective as it allows users to connect wherever they might be.
Android 15 has been out for a long time, so it's a bit disappointing that this feature still isn't active yet. In fact, Google is tipped to launch Android 16 earlier than expected with a possible launch date of June 3.
We don't know when T-Mobile, or other carriers, will make Satellite Messaging available to the public. However, there is no doubt that it will be a massive improvement to some of the best Android phones when it finally does.
