Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Apple enabled non-emergency satellite messaging from iPhones earlier this year. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, it may do the same for the next Apple Watch Ultra in addition to adding the long-rumored blood-pressure monitoring feature.
Satellite messaging on the Watch Ultra has been rumored since before we even knew what Apple’s XL-sized sporty take on its smartwatch line would be called. According to Gurman’s description, it would work like it does on the iPhone, letting you send text messages from the watch without a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.
He also reports that Apple is swapping out Intel modems in the Apple Watch for a component from MediaTek but doesn’t have any plans yet to use its upcoming in-house modems for the wearables. The new component included in “at least some models” could also support RedCap, the 5G service intended for wearables and IoT that sacrifices extra antennas and maximum bandwidth to reduce cost and extend battery life.
Adding satellite service could help Apple lure some Garmin inReach fans who might want to have one less thing to carry even if the inReach’s hundreds of hours of battery life still win out for extended hikes. Presumably, service would be provided by Globalstar, Apple’s satellite partner for the iPhone that it bought a 20 percent stake in last month.
As for blood-pressure monitoring, Gurman says that it “may arrive as soon as 2025 as well,” but he reminds us that the feature has been delayed in the past. Like sleep apnea detection and other health features of the Apple Watch, this feature wouldn’t offer specific measurements but could let you know if you seem to be experiencing hypertension.
