Almost a year ago, a high-ranking
Android employee announced that the
Android 14 operating system would receive a new feature in 2023 that would allow users to send messages and make phone calls via satellites in an emergency.
This feature already exists on the
iPhone, and
Google has been eager to follow suit.
Android's Satellite Feature: Will It Be Ready in Time?
However, with the launch of Android 14 just around the corner, it is starting to look like
Google may not be able to meet its original deadline. Recent research has shown that the public interfaces for the satellite feature are not yet available in Android 14, and it is more likely that they will be released in a following update.
"The satellite HAL APIs won't be present in the initial release of Android 14. But they could end up in Android 14 QPR1 or a later QPR" said the expert
Mishaal Rahman.
This is not necessarily bad news for Android users. Because the feature may launch in a later update this year. So there is still plenty of time for Google to finalize the satellite feature and get it ready for release. However, it does raise the question of why Google announced the feature so early if it was not yet ready.
Another issue is that the satellite feature is not yet confirmed for the Pixel 8 (Pro). The Pixel 8 will launch later this year. And it is possible that it will not include the satellite feature. This would be a disappointment for Pixel users who were hoping to take advantage of this new
technology.
Overall, it is still too early to say whether or not the Android satellite feature will be ready in time for the launch of Android 14. However, it is clear that Google is still working on the feature. And it is possible that it will launch later this year.
In the meantime, Android users who want this new technology will have to wait and see what Google has to offer. Overall, the satellite feature is a promising development for Android. But it is still too early to say how it will be received by users.