After rolling out powerful new AI tools to select Pixel phones, Google has quietly released a new satellite call feature, which suddenly appeared on Pixel handsets in the last week.
Spotted by the Google News channel on Telegram and called “Satellite SOS,” the feature will likely make it possible to make emergency service calls when users are out of cellular and W-Fi range.
We don’t know exactly how the feature will work because it’s not available to use right now, but it is possible to see it. The option can be found in the safety and emergency settings sub-menu on a Pixel phone (at, least on my Pixel 8 Pro), but if I tap it nothing happens. Clearly, the feature isn’t ready for prime time yet, so Google may have accidentally added it in during an update, or it is teasing the upcoming feature.
9To5Google managed to dig a bit deeper into the feature through a rooted Pixel phone, which reveals that people will be able to call or text emergency services through satellite communication. A Google Maps location will also be shared, alongside some details from the caller’s Google account such as their name, IMEI number, battery level, email address, emergency contact details and phone number.
Users will have the option to choose what information is shared with emergency services according to the app screenshots 9to5Google took. Interestingly, Garmin is mentioned in the settings menu, alongside a suggestion to sign up for Garmin’s search and rescue insurance plan. Google had been rumored to be working with Garmin on providing satellite communication services for Android as early as last year.
This would be a major new feature for Google’s Pixel phones, and for Android, if it’s rolled out that widely. Not just for the obvious safety reasons, but because Apple introduced the exact same feature to its recent iPhones. There have already been several stories of lost hikers being saved by a satellite call to first responders from their iPhone 14. These services can be a genuine life saver and an obvious, in-built, marketing opportunity for a device when they work properly.
Apple has only committed to providing the iPhone’s satellite call feature for free, for three years. It’s not clear if Apple will charge users for access to it in 2026, but clearly, the company wants to keep that option open. On Pixel phones, the fact that a Garmin insurance plan is mentioned makes me wonder if Google is also considering a paid subscription for the feature at some point in the future too.
We’ll have to see if that’s the case, but there’s legitimate reason to be concerned about paying a subscription for features on your phone because that’s precisely what companies like Samsung are hinting at.
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