One of the most notable features Apple has released in the past few years is support for satellite connectivity on iPhones to help with emergency assistance and communication. It helped people facing the wrath of Hurricane Helene a few weeks ago, and it now looks like Apple is extending that feature to smartwatches.
According to Bloomberg, next year’s Apple Watch Ultra model will be able to latch on to satellite networks. “The technology will let smartwatch users send off-the-grid text messages via Globalstar Inc.’s fleet of satellites when they don’t have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection,” says the report.
When the system was first introduced two years ago, it was limited to contacting emergency services. Apple subsequently expanded the scope to include roadside assistance as well. With the arrival of iOS 18, the company allowed users to send and receive text messages while connected to a satellite network.
Notably, the smartwatch will offer satellite connectivity in a standalone format. That means users won’t have to carry an iPhone on them if they go on a hiking trip or get stranded without their smartphone. In doing so, the next Apple Watch Ultra might also take the crown of being the first mainstream smartwatch to offer satellite link-up support.
Apple is also looking to switch away from Intel modems to a MediaTek model for cellular connectivity on its smartwatches in the coming years. The company is also ditching Qualcomm and putting an in-house modem in some devices next year, including the iPhone SE refresh.
Another major upgrade will be support for 5G, or, to put it more specifically, a nerfed version of the cellular standard. So far, Apple Watches have only relied on 4G LTE on the cellular models. This version of 5G would target 150 Mbps in downlink and 50 Mbps in uplink, much lower than your typical cellular 5G.
The tech in question is 5G RedCap, short for 5G Reduced Capability, which targets a higher peak data rate compared to 4G LTE, lower latency, and better energy efficiency for IoT divides, as well as battery-powered sensors and wearables.
“Examples of use cases that will be addressed by RedCap include wearables such as smartwatches, wearable medical devices, and low-end AR/VR glasses, video surveillance, industrial sensors, smart grids, and so on,” explains Ericsson, the company behind the tech.
Apple continues to work on another notable health-sensing feature that has already been adopted by rivals like Samsung. According to Bloomberg, work on blood pressure monitoring is still underway, but there is no word exactly when it will arrives.
The company is also said to be experimenting with noninvasive blood glucose monitoring, but that feature will take time to arrive. The innovation slowdown in the health segment for wearables is evident, but as a stopgap, Apple has dished out features like hearing aid assistance on the AirPods earlier this year.