Google may add a feature very similar to Apple’s SOS feature in the Pixel 9 and next-generation Pixel Fold.That’s according to leaker Kamila Wojciechowska, who wrote for Android Authority The company will partner with T-Mobile to offer the feature, but other providers may be added later.
Like Apple’s system, Google’s SOS feature will reportedly ask future Pixel owners a series of questions to determine what’s going on, rather than letting users figure it out on their own.A video is in Android Authority The article describes the animation Google will show users to help them align their phones with satellites.
According to Wojciechowska, the feature raises some of the following questions:
T-Mobile announced a satellite messaging service in partnership with SpaceX more than a year ago, but did not specify pricing, and as of January, the service was still in a testing phase. Last year, a developer discovered some Google Messages code that suggested Garmin was working on the feature as a provider. Garmin uses the Iridium satellite network to provide such service for its InReach 2-way messaging devices, which Iridium says can reach “anywhere on the planet.”
Whether it’s offered by T-Mobile or Garmin, though, the feature isn’t necessarily free – Garmin, for example, costs $15 per month to start. Then again, Apple currently subsidizes its services, so maybe Google will do the same.