Welcome back to Tech Briefs. Today’s story: Elon Musk squared off with Apple over satellite connectivity for the iPhone. According to The Information, Musk offered Apple an exclusive deal—“SpaceX would exclusively provide satellite connectivity to iPhones for 18 months, for an upfront cost of $5 billion,” followed by $1 billion per year for Starlink service. He even threatened that “if Apple did not agree to a deal within 72 hours, he would announce a similar satellite feature on his own.” Apple passed.

Two weeks before the iPhone 14 launch, SpaceX partnered with T-Mobile to let users send texts in no-service areas. Meanwhile, SpaceX filed legal challenges against Globalstar, accusing it of “underutilizing the spectrum” and “hogging spectrum for itself.” Those filings named Apple, straining relations further. Musk also pushed Apple to support T-Mobile satellite texting on phones older than the iPhone 14, but Apple refused.

The spat adds to broader tensions—App Store fees, and Musk’s musings about building his own phone with Starlink connectivity. That’s today’s Tech Briefs. Thanks for listening.
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