iPhone 14 could get satellite connectivity, but don’t get too excited

Apple’s iPhone 14 series smartphones are expected to be released later this year. CAD renders of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro have been leaked ahead of the launch, and along with that, we’ve also learned more about the upcoming iPhone’s camera design and camera sensors.

The latest information about the iPhone 14 is out now and it comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. In a recent article, Gurman talked about Apple’s plan to bring satellite communications to its iPhones and watches. Although the focus of the article is on monitoring BP with the Apple Watch (more on that in a moment), Mark ended the report by saying that satellite connectivity on the iPhone could be a reality this year.

Apple iPhone 14 will have satellite connectivity?

According to the report, Apple is currently working on eventually connecting satellite to the Apple Watch, and the company plans to bring satellite to the iPhone as early as this year, meaning that future iPhone models could indeed come with the feature.

With satellite connectivity built right into the phone, users will be able to send text messages or emergency messages via satellite networks and report incidents. This new emergency call feature will come in handy when the cellular network is unavailable. This feature comes in handy when someone is in a remote area with zero cellular coverage and Wi-Fi.

iPhone 14 CAD rendering

Before getting too excited about this feature, it’s also worth mentioning that the satellite feature was also supposed to come to the iPhone 13, but it didn’t. So, unless Apple is fully prepared with the game plan, we won’t see this feature on the iPhone. However, since this comes from a reliable source, we can expect the iPhone 14 to have the same. In addition, at this point it is still unclear which iPhone 14 models will have satellite connectivity.

Apple Watch blood pressure monitor delayed

The Apple Watch Series 8 is expected to launch later this year with three new next-generation watch models that are said to bring a major upgrade in terms of activity tracking and are also expected to feature a faster chipset.

The Apple Watch Series 8 was previously speculated to feature a body temperature sensor, and it was also believed that Apple was also testing adding blood pressure and blood sugar sensors to future Apple Watch models. Now, Gurman says that “Apple’s plan to add a long-awaited blood pressure monitor to its smartwatch has run into some issues,”and so the technology won’t be ready until 2024, which is still a couple of years away. This means we won’t see a BP sensor on the Apple Watch 8 and Watch 9 series.

Apple is working on updated Apple Watch blood pressure sensor and software, and accuracy has been a challenge, he added. This feature may arrive in 2025. Apple BP monitoring will be different from how it works on Samsung watches. Gurman says Apple’s approach won’t tell users their specific systolic and diastolic readings, but will warn watch wearers that they may have hypertension, i.e. high blood pressure, and should consult a doctor or use a standard device for checking blood pressure.

Finally, another long-awaited feature, blood sugar monitoring on the Apple Watch is said to arrive in a few years, and a target release year has yet to be set, meaning it’s taking longer than the BP monitoring feature.