While Apple and SpaceX have no direct arrangement over Starlink satellite-based internet connectivity, a new report highlights two reasons why that could change in the future. The report also highlights a hardware change that could arrive with next year’s iPhone 18 Pro.
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For the past hour, Starlink customers around the globe have had trouble using the service. Although unrelated, the outage comes just one day after T-Mobile launched its integration with the satellite network.
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T-Mobile has been testing a beta version of its T-Satellite service with customers for several weeks now. Starting next month, the beta period will start to wind down as satellite connectivity officially launches as a paid service. Beyond the commercial launch, T-Mobile has also announced when the service will expand beyond text message support to include data.
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T-Mobile may be taking its sweet time rolling out the Starlink beta it announced during the Super Bowl in February, but the carrier is also sweetening the deal for those who test the satellite internet beta.
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Contrary to what you may have heard on TikTok, Apple did not just “install” Elon Musk’s Starlink on every iPhone.
The short explanation is that the iPhone is capable of using Starlink, just like any mobile service provider. More specifically, though, Starlink support on iPhone is limited to a single carrier for customers in the United States for now.
It’s not a direct partnership between Apple and Starlink. Instead, T-Mobile is using its 1900MHz (band 25) spectrum to provide additional coverage using Starlink, and the iPhone supports band 25. There’s nothing special in iOS 18.3 beyond supporting the latest version of T-Mobile’s network. Apple itself has not partnered with Starlink in any capacity.
However, if T-Mobile customers want to opt out of using Starlink on iPhone, there’s a way to disable using the functionality.
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Apple first introduced satellite connectivity features to the iPhone with the release of the iPhone 14 in 2022. The capability allows users to communicate with emergency services when out of range of traditional cellular connectivity. iOS 18 further upgraded the functionality to let users send messages to friends and family using satellite connectivity.
Apple initially partnered with Globalstar to power these satellite connectivity features for iPhone users. Now, Bloomberg reports that Apple has also been “secretly working with SpaceX and T-Mobile” to add Starlink satellite connectivity to the iPhone.
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SpaceX has been cooking up Starlink-backed satellite cell service for a while now, and the company just demoed a major milestone.
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