2024-04-18 20:41:40
The Google Pixel 9 could allow its users to make an emergency SMS call via satellite. The function is known from another smartphone.
Google plans to equip its Pixel smartphones with a satellite emergency call function. This is reported by “Android Authority”, citing a company insider. This feature, which has been available on iPhones for a year, allows users to call for help in an emergency even without a cellular connection.
This innovation is made possible by Google’s new chip Tensor G4, which the Pixel 9 smartphone will be equipped with. The chip brings Samsung’s new Exynos Modem 5400, which is intended to enable satellite communication in collaboration with T-Mobile in the USA.
Other devices could also receive satellite emergency calls
As the online portal further reports, such a function was integrated for the first time in a first test version of the soon-to-be released Android 15 operating system for developers. In addition to the Google Pixel 9, the upcoming foldable smartphone Pixel Fold 2 and the next Pixel tablet from Google could also have this function.
In an emergency, users are then asked questions to narrow down the problem, for example “What happened?”, “Is everyone breathing?” and “Are there guns involved?”. To speed up the process, predefined answers are also available for many questions.
After answering, users will then receive pictorial instructions on how to hold their smartphone in order to establish a satellite connection and send an SMS to emergency contacts or the emergency call.
The SOS function itself will be available via an app called “Satellite Gateway”. It remains unclear whether Google will offer this feature for free or at an additional cost and whether satellite radio will also be offered outside the US.