RIP Garmin Inreach … iPhones to allow satellite messages in ios18

[TheTone]

Elk hunted with a buddy last fall that was constantly on his inreach and iPhone satellite for texting his employees. After day 1 I was ready to throw both of them off a cliff. Sometimes people need a break from tech

 

[BobT1105]

My AT&T IPhone 17 works okay for casual satellite text messaging, I would rather have a Garmin for emergency use.

 

[Hunt&FishCO]

My buddy sold his inReach on FB right before the season last year thinking that he’d cash out on the device/subscription and rely on iPhone sat msg

He has since regretted that decision. Here’s the major drawbacks:

- No group messaging
- Waiting on satellites constantly to send / receive. Lots of latency
- You have to leave your phone unlocked to message (no multitasking with OnX)
- No redundancy
- Battery draw
- Basically missed opportunities because the rest of the group was on InReach and we’d forget to text him / wait on satellites to do so

 

[Chingon]

If you have T-mobile, the Starlink messaging is pretty seamless now. Works just like normal with pics, group texting, etc. Even weather, Google maps and other apps get limited data. This is what will kill Garmin's InReach.

In a pinch, the GPS Iridium SOS texting does work if you need it and just plan regular check-ins. For frequent comms it's annoying.