Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google could soon add satellite connectivity features to Maps.
- Google Maps beta v11.125 has strings of code suggesting you’ll be able to update you location via satellite every 15 minutes, five times a day.
- The feature will only work with devices that support satellite connectivity.
It’s no secret Google is working on bringing satellite connectivity to Android phones. In fact, the company added satellite connectivity support for SMS apps and preloaded RCS apps to Android 15 after Developer Preview 2 was released last month. But strings of code hint that Google could also add this support to the Maps app as well.
An APK teardown of Google Maps beta v11.125, conducted by AssembleDebug and shared with PiunikaWeb, reveals new strings of code that mention satellite-based location sharing. Based on those strings, users would be able to “update your location once every 15 minutes, up to five times a day.”
This means you would not need a cellular or Wi-Fi connection to update your location in Maps. Such a feature would come in handy if you ever found yourself in a location absent of cellular service.
Needless to say, but a phone that supports satellite connectivity will be required to use this feature. For example, this feature should work fine for the Pixel 9 series, which is expected to have a modem that supports 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
The icon of the “Satellite Gateway” app
This feature would join Android 15’s growing list of satellite-supported features, which include being able to communicate with emergency services. We have also recently seen the UI that will be used for satellite connections, along with a satellite icon you can see above.
