NEWS
How Satellite Messaging works on the Galaxy S25 on Verizon
Samsung worked with Qualcomm to bring satellite messaging to the Galaxy S25 series. In addition, the latest Galaxy S series phones that begin shipping today (February 7) will give Verizon customers free access to Skylo Technologies’ satellite messaging and location-sharing service.
Verizon has teamed up with Skylo to introduce satellite connectivity features on Samsung’s recently launched Galaxy S25 series and Google Pixel 9 series. Now, Skylo has explained how the Satellite Messaging feature works on Samsung Galaxy S25 phones and revealed the differences between satellite functionality on Galaxy and Pixel phones.
The Galaxy S25 models use the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which includes the Snapdragon X80 5G modem-RF system, while the Pixel 9 is equipped with the Samsung Exynos 5400 modem to support a Satellite Messaging system.
Skylo’s global marketing head Pete Saladino told Mobile World Live that both the Galaxy S25 and Pixel 9 phones will seek satellite connectivity through the firm’s software layer when they lose terrestrial reception.
Saladino explained that the emergency SOS service had three main features:
- The ability to connect with emergency services
- The ability to share the user’s locations with Garmin’s emergency response service
- The ability to send/receive texts with Garmin’s response service.
Specifically, the service will ask Galaxy S25 series owners to stand outside with a clear view of the sky to ensure proper satellite connectivity. Also, it will ask users about their emergency situation and request more information.
It is worth noting that the first message takes about three to four seconds to send, while subsequent responses from the provider should take five or six seconds.
According to a Qualcomm blog post during the launch, the Galaxy S25 series is the first Android device to feature Snapdragon Satellite Messaging, which allows consumers to send and receive messages via low-Earth orbit satellites (narrowband NTN), supported natively in the Android OS.
Today, with beta 4 Google expanded Android 16 Beta to select non-Pixel flagship devices from partner brands. Samsung, as always, is skipping the Android 16 Beta Program, while the new OS is available for select devices launched by Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, OnePlus, OPPO, Realme, vivo, and Xiaomi.
Google released Android 16 beta 4 with a second version of platform stability and announced that apps compatible with the new OS will now be available on the Play Store.
Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Vivo, and Xiaomi have opened beta registration windows for their latest flagship devices launched in the last few months. Samsung, however, is yet to complete One UI 7 for its Galaxy devices, but will soon roll out the stable One UI 7 and launch an independent One UI beta program.
Last week, it was revealed that the company is already working on Android 16’s adaptation and testing the alleged One UI 8 on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z Flip 6 smartphones.
Android continues to deliver great updates and new features throughout the year, while feedback from the beta community plays a vital role in constantly improving Android. The Android 16 developer site has a lot more information about the beta, including downloads and a release timeline for Pixel.
List of devices that are running the Android 16 Beta
- HONOR Magic 7 Pro
- Lenovo YOGA Tab Plus
- OnePlus 13
- OPPO Find X8
- realme GT 7 Pro
- iQOO 13
- vivo X200 Pro
- Xiaomi 14T Pro
- Xiaomi 15
- Redmi K70 Ultra
After the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung has today resumed the rollout of One UI 7 based on the Android 15 update for the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z Fold 6 SE. It is worth noting that the Korean tech giant had halted the rollout a few days ago due to a serious bug discovered in the initial update, so it is now rolling out a new firmware that will fix this issue.
Samsung has started rolling out the new One UI 7 update for the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Z Fold 6, and Fold 6 SE. Initially available in South Korea, the new One UI 7 build will go live in more markets soon. This build is a more refined build than the initial build and includes fixes for system improvements.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, Z Fold 6, and Fold 6 SE users can recognize it by the build number ending with BYD9.
Your Galaxy foldable device might have also received the new build. But you can check for the update manually in Settings > Software update. Click on Download and install so that your phone can receive the new OTA.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has now appeared on Geekbench, revealing that the company is carrying out pre-launch tests and preparations for its new device. The latest listing also solves the chipset mystery that has been in rumours for a long time.
According to the Geekbench 6.4 listing, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 US variant with model number SM-F966U achieved 3022 points on single-core and 9307 points on multi-core tests.
The US variant of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has appeared on Geekbench with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. Also, the phone is expected to run on Android 16-based One UI 8 operating system
Being a flagship folding handset, all these things sound quite good. Nevertheless, the actual performance will only be known once the device is officially launched in the consumer market. Inputs reveal that the chipset is clocked at 3.53 GHz base frequency.
Apart from this, the Korean tech giant can launch the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Z Fold 7 around July this year. Also, an affordable flip model can also be introduced along with both the devices.
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