According to the latest information, Google is looking to bring satellite SMS support to Android, for emergency uses. The feature is being spotted in the latest version of the Google Messages app.
As per several tipsters, the company will integrate this feature into the stable version of Android 14. This features getting highlighted since Apple, Huawei and many other tech giants have implemented it on their respective devices.
Google Messages to soon get Emergency Satellite SMS Support
According to the tipster Neil Rahmouni has posted an image on Twitter showing the user interface of emergency messages. The actual satellite SMS feature is still not active yet and is currently under development. But images clearly show the dedicated identifiers set by Google for SOS messages.
Looks like Google Messages is indeed preparing to add support for Satellite Connectivity. They’ve added UIs for conversations and SOS messages using satellite connection: pic.twitter.com/IDxse7QNCw
— Neïl Rahmouni 🐢 (@neil_rahmouni) August 17, 2023
These rumours were further supported when Android Researcher Mishaal Rahman spotted the presence of satellite SMS features in the beta builds of Android 14.
Satellite communication APIs did make their way into Android 14, though everything is marked as “hide” so they’re not available to third-party apps.
There’s going to be a satellite service “demo mode”. Supported datagrams include SOS messages and location sharing. pic.twitter.com/dk0BxhHamy
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) August 10, 2023