Future iPhones May Have Their Own Satellite Network To Transfer Data

Apple is reported to be developing satellite technology, according to Bloomberg, which says that the company has hired aerospace engineers to establish a team also including antenna and satellite designers.

It’s part of a secret project, whose final goal is to develop communications satellite tech for sending and receiving data to user devices directly and quickly to enable the connection between Apple devices without involving third-party networks.

According to the report, the iPhone maker may not be building satellite hardware on its own but may develop the ground-based equipment or transmission devices. This technology can be used to deliver data to Apple devices directly, or it can connect Apple devices independently from a carrier data network. Besides, we could use the technology to provide location services with better accuracy for better maps and guidance, which would benefit users in many ways, including users of Apple India, as stated in the report.

Apple has reportedly hired both engineers and executives from the satellite and aerospace industry, including Micheal Trela, an alumnus from Skybox Imaging, and John Fenwick, who are currently leading the team. Previously, they were the head of the satellite and spacecraft division at Google. Apple has also hired a former executive of Aerospace Corporation Ashley Moor Williams, along with key personnel from the content-delivery network and wireless networking industries.

While the idea of such a data network seems unreal, this is not the first time this concept has been used. For example, Lynk is a company that has focused on setting up a network of low-Earth orbit satellites for direct communication with phones.

And although we have known very little of Apple’s secret plan for this technology, like what else it’s working on or what the actual outcome will be, it’s indeed interesting to just think about some always-on connectivity bundled with our phones that remains available even if our primary network is off. That would give us consistent access to voice calls, navigation, and iMessages among other features.

However, if the technology does come to real life, you'd better prepare to pay extra money for Apple mobile. iPhones have long been known for their hefty price tags, but with such an innovative technology added to the iPhone, the Apple mobile price will surely go up significantly. And another thing to think about is what to do if we somehow lose our data, will there be any difference in iPhone data recovery? Let's wait and see.