Apple Plans Major New Satellite-Powered Features for iPhones

Apple is planning a series of upgrades to its satellite features for the iPhone and its smartwatches. Also: The company is nearing a $1 billion-a-year deal to power a revamped Siri with a custom Google Gemini model, and Apple is readying the first low-cost MacBook in a bid to compete with Windows laptops.

Last week in Power On: Apple is set to kick off its 50th anniversary with the first $140 billion quarter.

The Starters

Apple’s satellite features menu on an iPhone.Source: Mark Gurman When Apple Inc. prepares to enter a new product category, it typically starts with a sweeping vision — then scales back its ambitions to get something practical to market.

Consider the Apple Watch. The company originally imagined a medical lab on your wrist, but the first model barely went beyond heart-rate tracking. Over time, Apple added capabilities such as irregular heart rhythm notifications and sleep apnea detection. And it’s working toward offering continuous blood-pressure and blood-sugar monitoring, inching closer to that initial vision.

Headsets tell a similar story. Apple’s ultimate goal has long been lightweight smart glasses with iPhone-level capability. But to bring something tangible to market, it began with the heavy, expensive Vision Pro. The company continues to pursue its glasses project and is hoping to reach that milestone eventually.

Apple’s satellite ambitions have followed the same pattern. About a decade ago, the company hired two of Alphabet Inc.’s top satellite engineers to explore possibilities in the field. Early on, the dream was radical: replacing traditional cellular networks with satellites.

The idea was to have iPhones connect directly to space-based networks, bypassing carriers entirely. That would give users coverage anywhere and provide Apple with tighter control over its ecosystem. In the mid-2010s, several tech giants, including Google, explored similar concepts, but none found a feasible path forward.

Ultimately, Apple settled on something more modest but still groundbreaking: Emergency SOS via Satellite. Introduced with the iPhone 14 in 2022, it allowed users without cellular service to contact emergency responders via satellite — a cautious first step toward a broader vision.

Since then, Apple has steadily expanded its satellite offerings. In 2023, it added roadside assistance via AAA for stranded drivers, and more recently, it enabled users to send and receive text messages — not just for emergencies — when off the grid.

The technology is managed by Apple’s in-house Satellite Connectivity Group, or SCG, led by Mike Trela, a senior director in its hardware engineering department. The team works closely with the company’s wireless software, hardware technologies, business development and regulatory affairs units.

The service links compatible iPhones — and now the Apple Watch Ultra 3 — to a satellite network run by Globalstar Inc. Apple has discussed eventually adding the feature to its iPads via its new in-house modems, but there’s nothing imminent on that front.

Globalstar is a relatively small player in the satellite industry, and its constellation of spacecraft is aging. Still, it’s good enough to serve Apple’s current needs.

But the competitive landscape is shifting. Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., owner of Starlink, has become a major force in satellite communications and forged a wide-ranging partnership with T-Mobile US Inc. Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. are also developing their own satellite offerings.

Starlink Satellite Internet Systems in Ukraine A Starlink satellite-internet communication system antenna and router.Photographer: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg Inside Apple, meanwhile, there have been questions over whether the company needs to offer its own satellite service. From the early days of the project, which was once code-named “Stewie,” some executives argued that Apple isn’t a carrier and shouldn’t act like one. Now, with telecom giants expanding fast in the same territory, that viewpoint has only grown stronger.

Still, there are good reasons for Apple to stay the course with an in-house offering:

A long-term shift toward satellites: Over time, satellites could become the dominant technology for mobile connections. By investing early, Apple is positioned to be at the center of that transition, rather than relying on carriers to lead the way. Control over the experience: By owning both the software and user interface, Apple ensures that satellite features meet its design and privacy standards — consistent with its broader philosophy of end-to-end control. Global reach: Apple sells products in nearly every market worldwide. While US carriers like T-Mobile have moved quickly on satellite technology, many international providers have lagged behind. Apple’s direct involvement helps bridge that gap. Technical dependencies: Apple’s current satellite protocols were developed primarily for Globalstar’s network and aren’t fully compatible with other providers’ systems. That reliance could make switching networks difficult — another reason for Apple to keep building its own expertise. A fast-changing industry could ultimately force Apple to change its approach. For one, Globalstar is exploring a potential sale. And Musk’s SpaceX is seen as a possible acquirer.

But Apple continues to develop additional satellite features. That work includes:

A satellite framework for third-party apps: Apple is building an API that will let developers add satellite connections to their own apps. Implementation will be up to the app makers, and not every feature or service will be compatible. Satellite-powered maps: The company is eyeing bringing satellite connectivity to Apple Maps, allowing users to navigate without cellular or Wi-Fi access. Richer messaging capabilities: Apple is working on enhanced satellite messaging that supports photos in addition to basic text messages. “Natural usage” improvements: One of the biggest limitations of Apple’s current system is the need for an unobstructed view of the sky. The company aims to let users stay connected while their iPhone is in a pocket, car or even indoors — eliminating the need to physically point the device toward the sky. This approach is known in the industry as “natural usage.” Satellite over 5G: On the hardware side, as earlier reported by the Information, next year’s iPhones are slated to support 5G NTN. That allows cellular towers to tap satellites for increased coverage. Bringing most of these new features to market will require major upgrades to Globalstar’s satellite infrastructure — improvements that Apple has helped finance. If SpaceX ultimately acquires Globalstar, those enhancements could roll out more quickly than otherwise possible. But such a deal would also force Apple to rethink its business model and long-term strategy for satellite services.

Apple’s approach has been to own a core set of features and offer them at no cost — from Emergency SOS to the upcoming enhancements — as a way to drive iPhone sales, encourage upgrades and keep users within its ecosystem. For more advanced capabilities, Apple plans to let customers pay carriers, SpaceX or other satellite providers directly.

A SpaceX-Globalstar merger would complicate that equation, but it may also bring opportunities. Apple could collaborate more deeply with SpaceX on premium satellite features — perhaps even creating a new paid tier for extended connectivity. Apple has no current plans to enable phone calls, video chats or web browsing via satellite, but SpaceX is aggressively moving in that direction.

One way or another, iPhone users are likely to gain access to those capabilities. In the end, Apple is steadily closing in on the satellite vision it first conceived a decade ago. It’s only a matter of time and details.

The Bench

Advanced Generative AI Tools as Major Tech Companies Urge Lawmakers to Avoid Heavy-handed Regulation

The Google Gemini logo.Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg Apple will pay roughly $1 billion annually to fix Siri with custom Google Gemini model. Over the past few months, I’ve written extensively about Apple’s plan to power its revamped Siri voice assistant with a custom model from Google’s Gemini team. This past week, I added that the model clocks in at 1.2 trillion parameters and will cost the iPhone maker about $1 billion per year. That parameter figure — a measure of the variables that help AI make predictions — would dwarf the roughly 150 billion level of the current cloud-based Apple Intelligence model.

What’s becoming increasingly clear is that Apple has no intention of publicizing this partnership or the fact that Siri will, in part, rely on a rival’s technology. Internally, the company refers to the Google-built model as AFM v10 — short for the 10th version of its Apple Foundation Models. The reasoning is straightforward: avoid revealing the Google connection, prevent confusion among employees and customers, and emphasize that the underlying architecture still shares significant overlap with Apple’s in-house systems.

Even so, adopting a Google-developed model to overhaul Siri represents a major acknowledgment of what was needed to get the new experience ready for market. Credit where it’s due: Apple is doing whatever it takes to deliver a product that meets user expectations — setting aside pride and its typically cautious spending habits. The move echoes the company’s 2020 decision to rely on Qualcomm Inc. modems to bring 5G to the iPhone 12 lineup despite fighting the chip maker in court for years.

And just as Apple was eventually able to begin transitioning to its own modem technology, it plans to someday move away from Google’s Gemini models as well. That won’t be easy. Apple has lost several of its top AI researchers and model developers in recent months. But the goal remains ambitious — to have a 1.0 trillion-parameter Apple Intelligence model built entirely internally ready for consumer use as early as sometime next year. It just won’t arrive in time to power the new Siri, which is slated for the spring.

Apple MacBook Air Apple’s M1 MacBook Air.Photographer: Phil Barker/Future Publishing Apple prepares low-cost, Chromebook-killing laptop for next year. 2026 is shaping up to be a massive year for the Mac lineup. In the first half of the year, Apple plans to roll out new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, as well as an M5 MacBook Air.

The middle of the year will bring the M5 and M5 Pro Mac mini, in addition to M5 Max and M5 Ultra versions of the Mac Studio. Toward the end of the year, expect the debut of the M6 chip and the introduction of a new low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro.

That’s a packed slate — but none of those updates will dramatically move the needle. All of them are evolutionary, not revolutionary, and Apple isn’t expected to make any major external hardware design changes. But two Macs on the road map do mark major shifts. I previously wrote about the first one: a revamped M6 Pro and M6 Max MacBook Pro with an OLED display, thinner chassis and touch support. That’s slated to arrive between late 2026 and early 2027.

And now, as I reported this past week, comes the second: J700, Apple’s upcoming low-cost MacBook aimed at students and budget buyers. Designed to compete with Windows PCs and Chromebooks, it represents one of the biggest strategic pivots in the Mac’s modern history — and one that could pay off handsomely.

Post Game Q&A Q: What’s new in the first beta version of iOS 26.2? A: As expected, Apple delivered this update and its corresponding operating systems to developers this past Tuesday. There’s nothing major in the release, but there are some tweaks worth noting. First, the company made a much-needed adjustment to the Sleep Score system on the Apple Watch. It now no longer grades anything over a 70 as high. The system starts at 81 for that measure and there’s a new very high benchmark for scores of 96 to 100. The update also has a slider on the lock screen that lets you adjust the transparency of Liquid Glass for the clock. Other changes: It tweaks the user interface in Apple News, adds support for AirPods live translation in the EU and offers support for a list of mentioned links in the podcast app.

Q: What’s a big new AI feature coming from Apple next year? A: The company has plenty of AI in store for 2026. The big question is whether the features will work — and resonate enough with consumers to improve Apple’s subpar record. As I’ve discussed before, a new Siri is slated to come with iOS 26.4, and the voice assistant will get a redesign in iOS 27. There also are plans for an AI-powered web search tool. But let’s focus on a feature I haven’t discussed in a while: a revamped Health app with a new Health+ service. It will include an AI agent that helps users manage their health. If successful, the service could make Apple one of the first major tech companies to gain steam in the health AI chatbot space.

Q: What’s the future of Apple Fitness+? A: Fitness+ — the company’s app-based Peloton rival — remains one of its weakest digital offerings. The $9.99-a-month service suffers from high churn and offers little revenue upside. Still, Fitness+ has enough loyalty from its small fan base that Apple can’t simply shut it down without a backlash. And given how inexpensive it is to operate, there’s little incentive for a nearly $4 trillion company to pull the plug — especially if such a move would generate negative headlines. That said, the future of Fitness+ is under review. The division is getting new management, with Apple health head Sumbul Desai adding Fitness+ to her portfolio. Both she and that group will now report to services chief Eddy Cue. With that new arrangement in place, the service will be under fresh pressure to improve results.