As a world-renowned technology company, Apple’s annual mobile phone conference can attract global attention, so it is called the Spring Festival Gala of the mobile phone industry. In a few days, this year's new mobile phone iPhone13 will be officially launched. Before the press conference, there will be major media broke the news on the technology and innovations used on Apple mobile phones. Recently, bloggers revealed that the iPhone 13 may support low-orbit satellite communications. This information was immediately caused The hot discussion in the mobile phone and technology circles. So what is low-orbit satellite communication? Is he really the trump card of the iPhone 13 as the outside world said?
low-orbit satellite communications, compared to the synchronous satellite used in our daily mobile phone communications, its altitude is much lower. is due to its high transmission quality and low latency. The characteristics of low cost and high profit are considered to be the most promising satellite communication system . However, at this stage, it is mainly used for satellite phones. Smartphones have not yet been used. If iPhone13 really supports the low-orbit satellite communication, it will be the first in the world, and Apple once again leads the global mobile phone brand.
As we all know, signal is the most basic and most important communication equipment! For mobile phones that receive signals through base stations, they all have a problem, that is, in remote areas where base stations cannot be installed or areas with poor signal, mobile phones often have no signal. We often see people in mountainous areas in movies. There was an accident, and there was a situation where there was no signal when I took out my mobile phone and couldn't call for help. How to realize that the mobile phone has a signal anywhere has become a technical problem for communication operators . At this stage, carrying low-orbit satellite communication is one of the ways to solve this problem. This technology can realize that the mobile phone has a signal no matter where it is, because its signal is not from the operator’s base station but directly received from the low-orbit satellite. Signal. If this technology can be implemented on smart phones, then the operator will panic, because it will completely bypass the operator to directly achieve communication.
But for operators, this technology is still far away to be applied to smartphones. It is reported that even if the iPhone 13 does support this technology, it is only limited to sending distress messages in emergencies. Can not achieve the use of other functions.
There are still many problems when this technology is applied to mobile phones:
First, the mobile phone antenna problem. The current mobile phone designs are very aesthetically pleasing, and they are also thin and light, so they cannot receive satellite signals normally. It is impossible to install an antenna that can be pulled up in order to ensure the quality of communication like the old mobile phones. Moreover, the satellite phone is generally thick and heavy. Is it necessary to make the increasingly thin and light mobile phones like that? Isn’t this a "regression of technology"?
second,The use price is high. The cost of communication through low-orbit communication satellites is very high. Take Musk’s star chain , which is currently used for commercial use, if you want to use , you need to spend $499 to buy a signal receiving device. Equipment, in addition, you need to pay up to 99 US dollars a month for the Internet. And the price of a dedicated satellite phone is almost the same as that of a high-end mobile phone.
Relatively speaking, Apple may support this technology more as a publicity gimmick that is officially released to cause market discussion. Because even if it is really supported, there is currently nothing else to do except for emergency communication, and there is news that this technology can only be used in some markets, and we can’t use it anymore. The main reason is that this technology does not require a physical card or real-name authentication when used. Some time ago, a feature of Mi mix4 released by millet was cancelled because of the problem of not requiring real-name through the built-in SIM card. So Apple may support low-orbit satellite communications more just a gimmick.
Although Apple’s move is more of a gimmick, , but the application of this technology to mobile phones is indeed what the future communication trend refers to. Because of the advantages of low-orbit communication satellites, this technology has a broad market prospect. At present, 6G has officially adopted communication satellites as one of the communication methods.Judging from the importance of major mobile phone manufacturers when 5G first came out, the next generation of 6G will be a new competitive point. Driven by Apple, major mobile phone manufacturers may inevitably strengthen their research in this area. It is reported that 6G technology may be put into the market around 2030. It is difficult to say how far satellite communications will develop during this time. However, for operators, it is necessary to plan countermeasures in advance.
Although the low-orbit communication satellite has a good scenario, there are still many technical problems and high cost issues related to the use of related technologies on mobile phones. I personally think that Apple may support this technology more as a manufacturing gimmick. The current usability of this technology is too poor and can only be used in emergency situations. And when Apple released the news at this time, perhaps it was also a helpless move. Because in recent years, Apple’s new mobile phones are more than domestic mobile phones. In addition to the processor, the camera and charging have almost become slag in seconds. For the Apple era that used to "see Apple conferences, just wake up and pay in line" has passed, I don't know what Jobs would think of seeing Apple's current development. However, Apple still has a lot of fruit fans in the country to pay, if only the fans of domestic mobile phones are so powerful.
.
