Qualcomm’s pivot to standards-based satellite solutions

Qualcomm scrapped its proprietary Snapdragon Satellite service after Iridium reported that the company elected to terminate their partnership because no smartphone maker signed up for the feature. This decision follows the January announcement that the service would debut in the second half of 2023 with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Iridium maintains a 66-satellite constellation in low Earth orbit, but the lack of interest from manufacturers halted the proprietary rollout. Qualcomm’s decision to pivot toward standards-based satellite solutions stems from the fact that no smartphone manufacturers signed up for the proprietary Snapdragon Satellite service that they originally announced in partnership with Iridium. I see this move as a necessary response to Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite, which launched on the iPhone 14 in 2022. While Apple currently covers the costs, the company will begin charging users for satellite access next year. Google also found ways to build support for emergency satellite services into Android in August. You should watch if this shift allows smartphone makers to control their own relationships with satellite providers.

MediaTek’s flagship dominance

MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 leads the competition through the TSMC 3nm process. The architecture includes one Cortex-X925 core with a 3.63 GHz clock speed, three Cortex-X4 cores at 3.3 GHz, and four Cortex-A720 cores at 2.4 GHz. This configuration delivers 35% faster single-thread performance and 28% faster multi-thread performance compared to the previous model. The Immortalis-G925 GPU provides 40% faster performance and 40% better raytracing performance. I find the 8th gen NPU’s 80% faster LLM prompt performance and 35% better efficiency in mobile generative AI tasks hard to ignore. The chip also handles 8K 60fps 10-bit video with full-range HDR and supports WQHD+ displays with 180Hz refresh rates. MediaTek’s M90 5G Advanced modem reaches speeds of up to 12Gbps and achieves 10Gbps throughput via FR1 3CC and FR2 8CC. This modem uses Smart Antenna technology to identify user scenarios and boost data throughput. The modem also uses UltraSave technology to reduce average power consumption by up to 18% compared to the previous generation. The Dimensity 9400 contains a 7GB/s 5G modem and a 4nm WiFi and Bluetooth combo chip. Companies like OPPO and vivo already use this chipset in their phones. The chip’s 224G SerDes solution provides reliability and efficiency for AI and hyperscale computing across various device categories.

The satellite landscape

MediaTek demonstrated Ku-band NR-NTN connectivity through a field trial via OneWeb low Earth orbit satellites and Eutelsat infrastructure. This technology enables ubiquitous broadband connectivity to 5G devices. MediaTek’s L4S technology reduces network latency by over 20x and minimizes packet loss, which directly challenges Qualcomm’s position in the satellite market. MediaTek also uses 3TX transmission antennas to achieve a 1.9x uplink performance boost. Samsung might use the Dimensity 9400 in at least one Galaxy S25 model to reduce chipset expenditure. This decision follows Samsung’s previous move to the Dimensity 9300+ in the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus. I see the competition between Qualcomm’s Oryon architecture and MediaTek’s high-efficiency design as the primary driver for the 2026 flagship market. The Motorola Defy Satellite Link, which Lenovo is introducing, delivers emergency SOS and two-way text messaging for $99 plus at least $5 a month in subscription fees. This device uses Bullitt technology to allow any paired smartphone to connect to satellites. Will Samsung prioritize the lower cost of MediaTek silicon over the performance of Qualcomm’s Oryon cores?