Qualcomm is now killing the Snapdragon Satellite SOS feature for Android phones before the feature could actually be a reality. Snapdragon Satellite was announced earlier this year in partnership with satellite communications company Iridium. But the partnership is no more.
Iridium confirmed that Qualcomm has terminated the partnership after no smartphone maker signed up to use it. The feature had already been successfully developed, but it can’t be launched.
Pricing could be the main reason why this feature couldn’t become a reality. Iridium needs payment to offer access to its satellites. Another reason could be the Qualcomm’s control over the feature. This is the reason Qualcomm is now looking at a standards-based approach for this feature.
Snapdragon Satellite feature was an alternative to Apple’s Emergency SOS feature. Apple partnered with Globalstar to let iPhone users send alerts to emergency services or request roadside assistance over a satellite network when they are in no service area.
Although the feature is available for Apple users, we don’t know how useful this feature is for Apple users. Currently, Apple is covering the costs, but it will soon start charging users a fee for using satellite connectivity.
