Starlink, Apple, and T-Mobile Bring Satellite Service to Smartphones
The trio will allow any T-Mobile iPhone user running iOS 18.3 (and presumably future versions) to tap the Starlink network.

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It’s a match made in heaven — or at least a meaningful rendezvous somewhere in the exosphere, which is roughly 375 miles above the earth’s surface.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg spotted a little-noticed feature in Apple’s latest iOS software update released earlier this week: The ability for iPhone users on T-Mobile’s network to tap into satellite coverage courtesy of Starlink. It’s a quantum leap for Starlink in its push to expand its still limited direct-to-device coverage.
Sky High Ambition
This isn’t the first foray into direct-to-cell satellite service for any of these three companies. Back in 2022, Apple teamed with satellite operator GlobalStar to launch its Emergency SOS feature, which allows users to send texts and contact emergency responders when out of range from traditional cell service (say, when on a hike or out camping). And T-Mobile and Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, already have a partnership in place — but it’s been restricted to just a select line of Android-powered Samsung devices.
Now the trio will allow any T-Mobile iPhone user running iOS 18.3 (and presumably future versions) to tap the Starlink network, marking a massive expansion for direct-to-device services in the US. And even as the feature remains in a beta phase for now, it’s already looking like a big splash:
- In a message sent to users auto-enrolled in its Beta program, T-Mobile said they could now text “from virtually anywhere” using the feature; Elon Musk said on X that users should also be able to access medium-resolution photos, music, and podcasts as well. In an earnings call Wednesday, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said that following the beta period, the service will be included as a free perk only for users subscribed to its most premium carriage plans — making it a bet that some customers will opt for an upgrade for the expanded coverage.
- Starlink also claims it will deliver better service to iPhone users than GlobalStar, which requires users to hold their phones up to the sky to connect to its network. Unsurprisingly, shares of GlobalStar tumbled nearly 18% on Wednesday; that’s a bit of a ding to Apple, which took a 20% ownership stake worth $400 million in the company in a deal struck last May.
Intelligent Design: The Starlink partnership was another small win for Apple, a.k.a., the Big Tech firm that entirely avoided this week’s DeepSeek-triggered tech rout. In fact, Apple’s share price has jumped nearly 7% since the start of the week, as its previously modest approach to AI investment starts to look a little smarter in a world after DeepSeek has proven AI models can be made efficiently enough to run natively on smartphones. “In a world where consumer large language models become commoditized, distribution platforms become key assets, and Apple owns the most valuable consumer technology distribution platform that exists today,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.