Samsung is getting serious about satellites with the Galaxy S26 launch

Although it wasn’t mentioned during the Galaxy S26 media event earlier this week, Samsung has now confirmed it’s latest and more recent Galaxy smartphones will finally proper support satellite connectivity.

In a blog post, the company explains how the newly Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra will all enable users to access various degrees of satellite connectivity – from emergency SOS to broader mobile data to use popular apps – when traditional cellular or Wi-Fi access is unavailable.

In some cases, the satellite-based messaging and data services will go beyond the ability to make contact with emergency services and will be available in various countries across Europe, Japan and North America.

“Designed to support emergency response and essential communication when traditional mobile networks are unavailable, satellite communication is taking on increased significance within commercial mobile networks by providing stabler and more seamless network services,” Samsung says.

Samsung had already established some partnerships supporting low-Earth orbit satellite connectivity. Since last year, T-Mobile has already enabled some text and data services via Starlink, Verizon is now on board too and AT&T will follow.

But there’s tiered access. While T-Mobile offers text and data services, Verizon only offers emergency SOS. Apple got around this carrier dependence by making partnerships with the satellite companies themselves.

The breadth of the feature will depend on the country and network operator, with some operators also enabling the connectivity in the Galaxy S25 phones, all the way back to the S21 and dropping down to A-Series phones. Part of today’s announcement involves retroactively activating satellite features on older handsets.

For example, in the UK, as we reported earlier this week, Virgin Media O2 is the only carrier on board thus far and we know the S25 and S26 are supported.

On February, O2 revealed the service will boost its nationwide coverage to 95% overall. The satellite connectivity will automatically kick-in when the signal drops off. It’ll be powerful enough to send text and make calls, and find your way out of the not-spot with access to mapping apps. You won’t be binging Netflix using this service, but O2 says it “delivers connectivity for the things you need to explore further: text messaging and essential apps like WhatsApp, maps, location sharing and weather.”