Satellite communication for Android: Qualcomm and Iridium terminate partnership

Qualcomm and Iridium terminate their partnership, which was supposed to provide Android phones with satellite communications, reports PCMag.

The deal was announced in early 2023. At that time, Qualcomm introduced Snapdragon Satellite technology to enable premium smartphones to connect to Iridium satellites for messaging.

However, Iridium now says that Qualcomm is canceling their partnership as of December 3. One of the possible reasons for this decision is the lack of interest in Snapdragon Satellite from smartphone manufacturers.

“The companies successfully developed and demonstrated the technology; however, notwithstanding this technical success, smartphone manufacturers have not included the technology in their devices,” Iridium said in the announcement.

The company is now going to resume cooperation with other specialized manufacturers with whom it had previously worked. So, an alternative solution may appear.

By the way, this is not the only such project. For example, Starlink satellite communications may soon be available on smartphones. We are talking about the Direct to Cell service, which will allow you to exchange files, text and voice messages via a satellite connection.