Launching Next Month, IPhone 13 Can Make Phone Calls Via Satellite

Now the iPhone 13 can have the ability to make calls supported by satellite. (photo; Denis Chekarshin / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - In a few weeks, Apple's newest device, the iPhone 13, will launch soon if it's on schedule. Now, the latest rumors say the iPhone has satellite connectivity capabilities.

An Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, now claims the iPhone 13 could have the ability to make calls supported by satellite. That means iPhone 13 users can make calls and send messages in areas without 4G or 5G coverage.

In a note to investors, Kuo claims that the iPhone 13 will be able to connect directly to low Earth orbit (or LEO) satellites thanks to the Qualcomm X60 baseband chip.

LEO satellites are perhaps best known as the backbone of Elon Musk's Starlink internet service, relying on satellites in lower orbits to deliver internet to subscribers and avoiding some of the common pitfalls of satellite internet, including high latency, and general outages.

Kuo added that LEO satellite communication is a technology that is comparable to mmWave 5G in terms of its impact on the network industry, Apple can take advantage of both technologies. Kuo said Apple was optimistic about the satellite communications trend and formed a special team for research and development of related technologies some time ago.

LEO satellites will provide support in places where there are no towers to transmit other forms of 5G speeds. Of course, this satellite is very useful in many rural areas where it is often difficult to get 3G or 4G connectivity.

But Starlink is not the only company to use LEO satellites for connectivity. Hughesnet and OneWeb have joined forces to launch rivals Starlink and Immarsat, they've also announced a new constellation meant to merge with terrestrial 5G networks globally.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm announced that the upcoming X65 chip will support Globalstar's n53 Band technology. If these rumors are true, the X60 will likely support other elements of 5G, which currently comprises a whole mix of technologies, including the extremely fast but limited millimeter-wave and the wider but slower C-Band.