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Amazon started aiming to fill the sky with satellites in earnest in 2023, when it launched its first satellite for Project Kuiper. Amazon is now developing those efforts under the name Project Leo (LEO is an industry acronym for low-Earth-orbit satellites). The goal is to eventually build out a fleet of thousands of satellites that can keep people connected just about anywhere they go, filling the gap between terrestrial cell networks. As Amazon put it in its press release, “The complete Amazon Leo network will include thousands of advanced satellites in low Earth orbit and have enough capacit

Most smartphone connections work by bouncing signals between cell towers. There are loads of cell towers around the world, but they’re limited in rural areas, out in the ocean, or in countries with less infrastructure to detect signals. The goal of satellite internet is to connect directly from the satellite to the device on the ground. To do that, you need a line of sight to a satellite. Which means you need more of them in orbit to see everything. That’s why companies like Amazon and SpaceX’s Starlink want thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit. The more that are up there, the more groun

Apple devices that use Globalstar features, like the iPhone 14 or later and the Apple Watch Ultra 3, shouldn’t see any immediate changes. In its press release, Amazon said the company and Apple “signed an agreement to provide satellite connectivity for current and future iPhone and Apple Watch features.” It will be interesting to see how Apple, which has used privacy as a strong selling point, will square using a location-aware service run by Amazon, a company with a poor track record of keeping users’ data secure across its products and services.

Amazon’s Project Leo already has 241 satellites in orbit. More are scheduled to launch later this month and through 2027. As for the Globalstar acquisition, Amazon says the transaction still isn’t closed, though it expects it to go through in 2027, barring any regulatory interference. “We're in the very early stages of the process,” Paul Flaningan, a representative in Amazon’s business and corporate development communications, wrote in an email response to WIRED’s request for comment. “Nothing is changing today; both companies will continue independent operations in the meantime.”