"Following the Apple iPhone 15, the Google Pixel 9 Pro will also support satellite emergency calls".

This is not an Apple idea.

Good to hear that more OEM's are adding this functionality to their products!!

After all with modern radio's & modems being programmable it seems rather silly to carry a high technology cell phone along with a dedicated LEO communication device!

Granted all these LEO's don't exactly provide %100 coverage %100 of the time and one needs to have a fairly decent sized unobstructed "view" of the sky to actually use one of the birds.

The 'pain point' for the various SAT providers is all the ground stations and the birds themselves are VERY costly both in initial investments and to maintain.

Here's where the majority of them would rather have its users paying a monthly/yearly fee or subscription for the use of their equipment rather than single use fees.

Charge per USE. PER USE! Can you imagine having a satellite phone, being stranded, and being unable to use it for SOS because you didn't pay the fee? I'd gladly pay $500-$900 per use as opposed to a monthly fee.