On Friday Patently Apple posted a report titled "With SpaceX & T-Mobile preparing to offer limited Satellite smartphone service next year, Apple's event invite image of a star constellation just got interesting." Then came rumors that it could be Apple Watch that will first offer satellite connectivity with the iPhone at some later time. Now Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has weighed in on the matter via one of his latest supply chain surveys, favoring the iPhone. 

Kuo's latest report titled "Survey updates for rumored iPhone 14 support for satellite communication," offers 10 key points as follows:

• The increasing frequency of natural disasters and geopolitical conflicts in recent years will likely make emergency texting/voice services via satellite communication a must-have smartphone feature.

• Satellite communication was one of iPhone 14’s test items before mass production, and Apple had completed hardware tests for this feature. iPhone 14's satellite communication mainly provides emergency texting/voice services.

• Whether iPhone 14 will offer satellite communication service depends on whether Apple and operators can settle the business model.

• I learned that Apple had already completed the hardware development of satellite communication in the iPhone 13. The lack of support is because the business model had not been negotiated.

• Hard to predict precisely when the iPhone will offer satellite communication service, but I believe it will happen eventually.

• MediaTek had demonstrated satellite communication with commercial 5G smartphone hardware. Their press release could be read here.

• Huawei will hold a media event on September 6 and announce the new model Mate 50, which will likely offer emergency texting services via satellite communication supported by the BDS (BeiDou Navigation Satellite) system.

• MediaTek and Huawei’s efforts further prove that satellite communication will likely eventually become a must-have feature of smartphones, including the iPhone.

• The operator most likely to partner with Apple for satellite communication is Globalstar.

• In the satellite communication service ecosystem, satellite communication operators like Globalstar have the highest entry barriers, which deserve investors’ great attention.