The iPhone was one of the first phones to gain satellite connectivity back with the launch of the iPhone 14 in 2022, but this feature was intended mainly as an emergency measure. Break a leg or run out of water when hiking in the wilderness, and emergency SOS could save your life, but it wasn’t much help for browsing social media. But a more accessible general-purpose satellite feature could be coming to the iPhone as soon as this year.
In a Weibo post this week (via AppleInsider), leaker Fixed Focus Digital predicts that Apple’s C2 modem (which is expected to make its debut alongside the A20 processor in the iPhone 18 Pro this fall) “will support NR-NTN this year.” That stands for New Radio Non-Terrestrial Networks, and refers to a technology that can connect smartphones to the internet via low-orbit satellites. This would mean you could access a 5G internet connection almost anywhere in the world, regardless of your distance from a cell tower.
“Huawei stated that it conducted public testing at the end of last year, and progress in China is currently slower, but there will be good news this year, so keep an eye out,” Fixed Focus adds.
“From this perspective, 2026 appears to be a starting point for satellite internet access for various mobile phone manufacturers.” And that, importantly for us, includes Apple.
While leakers on the Weibo social network are not always the most reliable, Fixed Focus is one of the more reputable names. They correctly predicted back in August that the iPhone Air would ship with an A19 Pro processor rather than an A19, and as long ago as April 2025 predicted an early-2026 launch for the iPhone 17e, which now looks extremely likely.
What’s more, this isn’t a new rumor. Last October, The Information reported that Apple had plans to support “5G networks that aren’t tethered to Earth’s surface” in order to “give the iPhone full internet access over satellite.” And in November, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman corroborated The Information’s theory and agreed that the next generation of iPhone would feature broader 5G NTN support.
At the time, there were some doubts over the available infrastructure, much as 5G coverage lagged behind the availability of 5G phones back in 2020. It wasn’t clear who would provide the satellite service, even if the newest iPhones had the hardware to support it. But based on Fixed Focus’s optimism, it sounds like progress is being made on that front.
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