> Stuff like this has existed from companies like garmin for some time.
No, this is entirely different from what Garmin and others sell.
Those devices require dedicated hardware (and a subscription plan) to talk to satellites. Also you can only send and receive text messages. (no voice, extremely limited data (like weather reports))
What SpaceX are doing uses a completely normal phone, with a completely normal phone plan. It's text for now, but voice and data are coming.
Text is announced for 2024. And personally, I'd be really surprised if that actually works out for unmodified phones sold today. I've written more about that here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37848212
No, this is entirely different from what Garmin and others sell.
Those devices require dedicated hardware (and a subscription plan) to talk to satellites. Also you can only send and receive text messages. (no voice, extremely limited data (like weather reports))
What SpaceX are doing uses a completely normal phone, with a completely normal phone plan. It's text for now, but voice and data are coming.