The iPhone 14 series may lack any new “wow” feature that will encourage users to upgrade, but it does have one new thing that we’re seeing more in the industry: satellite messaging.
With two-way satellite messaging, you can send and receive texts to friends, family, or any authorities if you’re in a remote location. This works by having special hardware present on your mobile phone that will allow it to interact directly with a satellite.
The said hardware is present on the new iPhones and a number of Android phones. But what if you want to have it but don’t want to spend a fortune upgrading your smartphone entirely? Well, you now have an alternative with the Motorola Defy Satellite, which was just launched in the US after being unveiled a few months back.
This one is a special accessory that you can take with you if you’re hiking in a remote location, in the middle of the ocean, or anywhere where a cell signal is not present. The best part is, it works on any smartphone, Android or iOS. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth 5.1.
It does come with different plans, with the basic Essentials Plan coming with 30 two-way satellite messages per month.
As for the hardware itself, it’s unsurprisingly robust with an IP68 rating for being dust and water-resistant and is MIL-SPEC-810H rated for withstanding drops. It can be submerged in up to 1.5m of water for 30 minutes.
It’s quite compact, too, with dimensions of 85 x 62 x 11.2mm and only weighs 70g, and comes with a strap that you can attach to your bag. It then has GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, and BDS, as well as a 600mAh battery that can last for up to four days on standby. It charges via USB-C.
The Motorola Defy Satellite Link is available in the United States for USD149.99 (~Php8,300).