(Credit: Andrew Gebhart/PCMag)
Don't miss out on our latest stories. Add PCMag as a preferred source on Google.
SpaceX's cellular Starlink system was designed to beam connectivity to phones, but it can now connect to Apple Watches in Japan and Canada.
In a quarterly earnings report, spotted by Ookla analyst Mike Dano, Japanese telecom operator KDDI said that its Au wireless carrier now supports the Apple Watch. This means SpaceX satellites can beam data to the three newest Apple Watch models, the Ultra 3, Series 11, and SE 3.
Au also updated its support page about the compatibility between the Apple Watch and SpaceX’s cellular Starlink. However, the satellite support is only available if Japanese customers buy the cellular version of the Apple Watch and sign up for Au's Starlink Direct service.
(Credit: KDDI)"Only text message sending and receiving via Apple Watch messages app is supported,” the earnings presentation adds.
Meanwhile, SpaceX's partner in Canada, Rogers Communications, has also added support for the Apple Watch. Cellular Starlink is available as a free beta to all Canadian users.
The news suggests SpaceX’s partner in the US, T-Mobile, could bring the same capability stateside, where it already supports ground-based cellular plans for the Apple Watch. The carrier didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But T-Mobile’s T-Satellite supports over 70 phone models, including the iPhone 13 and iPhone Air.
The capability would also enable more Apple Watch owners to receive satellite connectivity whenever they travel through a cellular dead zone. In September, when Apple introduced its new smartwatch models, only the Apple Watch Ultra 3 featured built-in satellite connectivity for emergency response. The same model also features satellite-powered texting and location sharing, but only if you have an active carrier plan associated with the watch.
The news comes as Apple’s satellite partner, Globalstar, is considering selling itself to SpaceX, raising speculation that the cellular Starlink system could ultimately play a larger role in Apple products. The technology can not only enable satellite-powered texting, but also transmit data to a growing number of Android and iOS apps, and even power video calls.