Apple to Expand Satellite Connectivity to iMessage for iPhones

(Credit: Apple)

Apple’s satellite connectivity system is currently exclusive to its “Emergency SOS” feature. But it’ll soon expand to iMessage, enabling users to send texts in cellular dead zones.

The company announced the news at WWDC while discussing enhancements to iOS. The upcoming feature, slated for iOS 18, beams iMessage data to orbiting satellites rather than traditional cell towers. The only requirement is that you have a clear view of the sky.

Apple designed satellite connectivity to maintain end-to-end encryption over iMessage. The same feature can also send SMS messages via the orbiting satellites to non-iPhone users.

Before, the Emergency SOS satellite connectivity only allowed eligible iPhone users to text emergency services. The feature has helped save lives since Cupertino introduced the system for the iPhone 14 back in 2022. However, Apple’s partner on the technology, satellite provider Globalstar, also teased last year that more satellite services for iPhones were in the works.

So far, Apple hasn’t provided more details, including whether the iMessage satellite connectivity will be free or not. The company's press release only says that "Messages via satellite will be available in iOS 18 along with Apple’s existing satellite features in the US on iPhone 14 and later."

The news arrives as SpaceX is preparing to offer satellite connectivity to iPhones and Android smartphones through a cellular Starlink service. SpaceX plans on offering the satellite service to T-Mobile customers later this year, first to power SMS messages before rolling out support for voice calls and internet data. Meanwhile, rival AT&T plans on tapping a startup called AST SpaceMobile to offer a rival cellular satellite service.

In the meantime, Apple has been offering eligible iPhone users two to three years of free access to the Emergency SOS feature.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
Xbox 360 FTW
The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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