Google Maps, Find Hub on the Pixel 10 just gained satellite-based live location sharing powers

As part of the Find Hub rebrand announced at Google I/O, Google also announced its plans to expand Find Hub to support satellite connectivity. Google didn’t share more details then, but we recently spotted more details about how Find Hub’s satellite location sharing would work. With the launch of the Pixel 10 series, Find Hub now officially supports satellite-based location sharing, and so does Google Maps.

Skylo has announced an extension of its partnership with Google, bringing several satellite connectivity features to its new hardware lineup. Amongst these, we get standalone satellite connectivity on the Pixel Watch 4 LTE. The Pixel 10 also has the usual satellite connectivity features, but it has also become the first phone to get satellite-based location sharing in Android 16.

Pixel 10 users can send their live location even without cellular coverage, using Skylo’s satellite network. Recipients will see a satellite icon on the shared location pin, indicating their off-grid status. Satellite-based location sharing can be done through Google Maps or Find Hub.

Skylo mentions that satellite-based location sharing will be available on the Pixel 9 series as well, which is good news. We’ll keep you updated when we learn more.

If you aren’t keen on getting a Pixel 9 or 10 for satellite connectivity, note that T-Mobile’s T-Satellite also supports location sharing and other features like text messaging. T-Mobile also notes that Google Maps, Find Hub, and Messages are now available for use with T-Satellite — on the Pixel 10 series, but expanding to more devices once T-Satellite becomes data-ready on October 1.