Apple announced satellite comm texting - no more in reach???

[5MilesBack]

Been using starlink at my fishing camp all spring...soon there will be nowhere to hide..

Leave your phone at home.......problem solved.

 

[kevingm1987]

This isn't really new news, nor will it be replacing InReach anytime soon. People have been able to contact emergency services using SOS on your phone for years the only thing changing is the texting ability. You still would need an InReach for daily communication & tracking with your family if so desired. Still would need InReach to text back & forth with other members of your hunting party, still would need InReach to get your weather updates.

Not exactly true. The phone is now connecting to a satellite to communicate through text to emergency services. Previously a cell could call 911 from their phone and the phone would connect to any available cell phone tower, wouldn't matter your provider. You would still need a cell phone signal to make this option work, this feature does not.

 

[go_deep]

T-Mobile already has tests in place currently with SpaceX. All T-Mobile customers will be able to text via low bird regardless of phone type.

 

[displacedtexan]

What if Apple offerd a phone in your favorite camo, though?

IPhone 16s

The s is for Sitka, available in subalpine and optifade.

 

[elkhunteralta]

Been active for some time, huge waste of time when it sends an sos from the ski hill and you cannot call the phone owner because there is no cell service. So some one has to go find the person and confirm they hit the slopes with it in there pocket.
It can work as intended in a serios crash, but so far 80 % have been false SOS calls.

 

[KentuckyHuntsman]

Definitely can’t wait for satellite “convenience” texting on phones. I think it’ll be a while until the infrastructure can handle the volume this would introduce.

 

[S-3 ranch]

Been active for some time, huge waste of time when it sends an sos from the ski hill and you cannot call the phone owner because there is no cell service. So some one has to go find the person and confirm they hit the slopes with it in there pocket.
It can work as intended in a serios crash, but so far 80 % have been false SOS calls.

I found this true with satellite emergency beacons on my offshore boat.
Setting it off was a major delay because so many units were being accidentally set off , the USCG would have to send a message to anyone in the general vicinity to check the situation before they would respond

My question is how far away can a inreach connect with the phone
Example can I put it outside the cabin and pair when inside

 

[Fireflyfishing]

I think once satellite texting is ubiquitous I still wouldn't necessarily switch because have you guys noticed how iphone batteries get killed in extreme cold weather?

Keep it close to your body. Problem solved.

 

[Dos Perros]

Keep it close to your body. Problem solved.

I can't look at the screen when it's close to my body. Maybe if I had eyeballs for nipples.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

I can't look at the screen when it's close to my body. Maybe if I had eyeballs for nipples.

Huh, well I must not need it as much as you do. I don’t have this issue and I keep a battery brick in my pack if it does go down.

 

[Southern Lights]

InReach will be dead inside a couple years. I sold mine last year. The writing is on the wall that satellite voice/data is coming to cellphones in a cheap and widely available way. Also, being able to go somewhere without hearing someone yapping on a phone or being a phone zombie is going away.

 

[Dos Perros]

Huh, well I must not need it as much as you do. I don’t have this issue and I keep a battery brick in my pack if it does go down.

I use it enough it's a risk. Even with reduced load it's a risk to die, and I don't take unnecessary risks with stuff that exists save my life. I can't imagine multiple days backpacking with lows near zero. Mine would shit the bed for sure even with care. For some reason the Garmins do better in the cold.

 

[Southern Lights]

I found InReach to be unreliable. Didn't work reliably under bush canopy or rain and often messages wouldn't get to recipients. I lost trust in it as a PLB and now have a dedicated PLB just for that task. SPOT was even worse.

 

[ODB]

Been using starlink at my fishing camp all spring...soon there will be nowhere to hide..

Nope: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/04/hooked-porn-remote-brazilian-tribe-internet-musk/

 

[Scoot]

I imagine that analogue satellite devices are near the end of their useful application, but they aren't irrelevant quite yet. I have no plans to upgrade my 5 year old InReach, but I don't foresee cancelling the service any time soon either. We were promised this technology, I believe, 2 years ago and it has yet to materialize nor have we seen the real world testing. I'm going to say we're 3 years out from a reliable network at a minimum and longer for practical communication. For example, I once sent a text to an InReach device to inform of Eddie Van Halen's death.

Eddie Van Halen died??? You shoulda text me!

 

[yfarm]

Investigate further
In Reach uses Iridium satellite, Apple Globalstar
Check user satisfaction of satellite cell phones relative to the network they use
then make a decision

 

[TxxAgg]

Tag

 

[Schoolhousegrizz]

I do like that my Garmin Messenger will stay charged for 14 days.

 

[Southern Lights]

Investigate further
In Reach uses Iridium satellite, Apple Globalstar
Check user satisfaction of satellite cell phones relative to the network they use
then make a decision

I'm waiting for Starlink on my phone. That will kill off all these other services. Probably will kill off many mobile carriers.

 

[HighUintas]

I just can't stand it. There won't be anywhere left to hide except the driest place on earth because almost no one wants to go there. I have a Garmin messenger because my wife wants me to have one. I have the Internet because I'm a friggin 37 year old.