Apple Might Keep SOS Satellite Feature For iPhone Users Free Forever: Here’s Why

Apple introduced its SOS satellite service with the iPhone 14 models last year and promised that buyers can use it for free for the next few years. This offer was extended recently for another 2 years up to 2025 which means if you have bought the iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 this year, you can use this helpful feature for the next two years without paying anything for the service.

But a new report hints that Apple could actually be onto something by extending this freebie and in fact keep it that way for years to come.

We recently stumbled onto this idea in a report by the guys at 9to5Mac and their reasons do make a lot of sense. Apple launched this premium service in 2022 without knowing how it will work and if it will make the desired impact. After going through multiple incidents where the SOS feature has helped people avoid mishaps, it can’t be denied that the feature works and it has done a lot of good to people.

So, here’s the dilemma in front of Apple: does the company start charging a fee for a service that has helped save people’s lives, or decide that emotions have to be kept aside when it comes to business and after 2025, people will have to pay to make use of this service.

If the company does change its stance on the free aspect and charge people for the SOS feature, there is a dark prospect of some people not being able to use the feature just because they didn’t pay for it. That turns into a PR nightmare for the iPhone maker, and that is unlikely to go down well with Tim Cook and Co.

The report claims that Apple doesn’t want to make it official that the SOS feature will be free forever, instead, offer these 1 or 2-year extensions which not only allows people to use the feature without any fee and also get positive feedback from consumers, who will most likely join the Apple bandwagon.

Having said that, the other possible way to keep the service running without any negative return is to have it part of the Apple One bundle which allows the company to rationalise the cost of the SOS satellite feature and give more people the chance to experience the benefits of this useful technology. But knowing Apple as a brand, it could also have different tiers of the SOS feature, giving the higher plans access to more advanced features.