Google has given Pixel 9 owners an extra free year of Satellite SOS, and it did so without announcing it.
Satellite SOS lets a phone contact emergency help when there is no cell or Wi-Fi signal. On the Pixel 9, access was supposed to be free for only the first two years. Google has now extended that window, and Apple has also extended access to its own satellite feature.
The change matters because of what kind of feature this is. Satellite SOS is something people buy a phone hoping never to use, which makes it a hard thing to sell as a paid add-on. A longer free period postpones the point at which owners have to decide whether it is worth paying for.
What is known is narrow: Google quietly extended the free window by one year, taking it from two years to three.