Satellite SOS is becoming a more and more common feature on new smartphones and it threatens to render devices like Garmin’s inReach messengers obsolete. But Garmin can coexist with the new phones – Google has partnered the Garmin Response emergency response coordination services for the satellite SOS feature of the new Pixel 9 series. Currently, this service is only available in the US and only for users of the new Pixel 9 series: the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL and 9 Pro Fold. Older models are not supported. Garmin Response handles over 17,000 SOS activations a year in more than 150...

Android 15 Developer Preview 2 introduced native support for satellite messaging and Google appears to be working on a bespoke UI for the upcoming Pixel 9 series. @Nail_Sadykov shared a look at how the system will work. Like Apple’s implementation, you will have to point the phone at the satellite with a UI to help you aim. This starts off in full screen, but you can minimize it to see other apps as well. The goal is to keep the satellite icon inside the circle to ensure a good connection. You will need to get out in the open first for a clear view of the sky as buildings, mountains and...

Apple promised two years of free Emergency SOS via satellite when it announced the iPhone 14 series last September but it is now extending the service for another additional year free of charge. The feature allows users to contact emergency help in areas without cellular connectivity. Emergency SOS via satellite Apple specifies that the free trial will be extended “for iPhone 14 users who have activated their device in a country that supports Emergency SOS via satellite prior to 12 a.m. PT on November 15, 2023”. Emergency SOS is currently supported in Australia, Austria, Belgium,...