Apple is extending free access to its satellite features for existing iPhone users for another year, the company revealed in a footnote to its iPhone 18 Pro press release. Here are the details.
Apple first introduced satellite connectivity on the iPhone with the iPhone 14 lineup, initially offering Emergency SOS via satellite and the ability to share your location through Find My via satellite. At launch, Apple said access would be free for two years.
Since then, Apple has expanded its satellite offering with additional features, including Roadside Assistance via satellite and Messages via satellite. The company now collectively refers to these as its satellite features.
In November 2023, Apple extended free access to Emergency SOS via satellite by another year for existing iPhone 14 users. Last year, Apple again extended free access, this time covering its satellite features for existing iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users.
This meant that without another extension, free access would have begun to expire for some users later this year. However, Apple revealed in a footnote to yesterday’s iPhone 18 Pro press release that it is extending free access for another year, now including existing iPhone 16 users as well.
When outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, Apple’s groundbreaking satellite features help iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max users stay connected and get assistance when it matters most. Apple is extending free access to satellite features for an additional year for existing iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 users. The free trial will be extended for iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 users who have activated their device in a country that supports Apple’s satellite features prior to midnight PT on September 9. For satellite feature availability, visit support.apple.com/en-us/105097.
Since Apple gives buyers of new iPhones one year of free access to its satellite features, this means that users who buy the new iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Duo will get their own free year, while existing iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 users covered by the extension will also get another year of free access.
To this day, Apple has not announced how much it plans to charge for its satellite features once the free access period ends. Given that these are potentially life-saving features, many speculate that Apple might ultimately keep at least some of them free, since charging users for access to emergency services could prove controversial.
Be that as it may, free access has been extended for another year. Whether this is the last extension, or we’ll be publishing a similar story again next year, remains to be seen.
Do you think Apple will ever charge for satellite access? Let us know in the comments.
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Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.
He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.
