Your older Pixel phone could get a huge free communications upgrade very soon

When you think about the latest smartphone you probably think more about the camera or its gaming prowess than you do its communication skills. But there's an evolution taking place in communication and those with an older Pixel phone could stand to benefit.

The latest feature of phones isn't 5G – that's old hat now – but instead the chatter is about communication beyond the reaches of regular mobile networks. Satellite communication was talked about for a few years before Apple announced its Emergency SOS feature in 2022 alongside the iPhone 14 and now the Google Pixel could be next to get it.

Despite lots of talk of software support and supporting hardware, there's been no Android equivalent of this service to date, but that might be about to change. While the new Pixel 9 might be the launch device for it – as a supported feature in Android 15 – older Pixel owners could be in for support too, according to details from Android Authority.

The Android news site found code in the Android 15 beta which pointed to support for something called "Pixel Satellite SOS", a service to rival Apple's Emergency SOS feature. It's thought that this will launch on the Pixel 9, but as 9to5Google points out, it could come to older Pixel devices too.

That comes down to the minor technical details surrounding the hardware used by Google in older Pixel devices. The Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 use the Exynos 5300 modem which technically supports satellite communication.

That doesn't mean the feature is enabled, but the Pixel Satellite SOS details unearthed makes reference to a message saying "Your Pixel has been upgraded to support satellite communication".

One reading is that older devices moving to Android 15 could have this hardware feature enabled in the modem, or it might simply be that the Pixel 9 launches without the feature turned on and it's enabled via a Pixel Drop in the future.

How does satellite communication work on smartphones?

Smartphones work by connecting to network antenna on the surface, but can only connect when they are in the range of a network mast. As soon as you step beyond the limits of those ground networks, you'll have no signal.

Low orbit satellites, however, can provide some connectivity – but in the past smartphones haven't contained any hardware to communicate with them.

Previously, it was only expensive satellite phones or devices like the Garmin InReach that used such satellite networks, but now a limited capability is being enabled on some phones. Initially, this is designed for emergency uses, sending a packet of information containing your details, location, phone status and a message.

However, as hardware becomes more efficient and deals are worked out between satellite companies, like Globalstar and Iridium, more features will become available.

At WWDC 2024, Apple announced it was going to enable messages via satellite, so we could be on the cusp of much wider satellite communications being switched on.