Why did Apple develop a "text walkie-talkie" but it later died?

According to the news from foreign media "the Information", Apple originally planned to launch the "text walkie-talkie" function on the iPhone. But later, for various reasons, the development of this function was shelved.

As the name implies, Walkie-Talkie allows two devices to communicate without carrier network coverage. Apple worked with Intel to develop this technology to allow iPhone users to communicate in areas without mobile phone coverage. The end result of this technology is that mobile phones send text messages to each other, allowing people to communicate in areas where wireless operators do not provide services. The working principle uses "off-grid radio service", so it is referred to as "OGRS project" within the company.

Apple and Intel hope that this technology will allow people to send information directly from their iPhones to other iPhones by bypassing the long-distance radio waves of cellular networks.

The "OGRS project" operates on radio spectrum above 900 MHz, which is a public radio band. But the technology itself has received little attention before and has not been widely reported, not to mention that it has been shelved. It is unclear how far Apple and Intel have gone in the development of this technology. The specific reasons why they abandoned these efforts are also unclear, but the Information pointed out that "the project director leaving Apple was a factor."

The man's name is Ruben Caballero. He left Apple in April this year. It is reported that the OGRS project is his "baby".

Another major factor in the project being shelved may be the change in the relationship between Intel and Apple. The text walkie-talkie feature is said to rely on the Intel mobile modem built into the iPhone. However, things have changed with Apple's recent settlement with Qualcomm over baseband chips; Apple subsequently acquired Intel's baseband chip division to develop its own chips.

The OGRS project may appear in future iPhones, but there is not much accurate information at present. We also don’t know when we will officially see this feature.

The walkie-talkie feature on the Apple Watch was another story altogether.
　　

Previously, Apple added a "walkie-talkie" function to the Apple Watch , but its principle is to send a short voice message through the iOS system's FaceTime Audio, which has nothing to do with the radio network. Sina Digital speculates that Apple wants to add a function to the iPhone that can be used without the carrier network, which may be related to the fact that the United States is sparsely populated and the carrier network coverage is incomplete. Behind this is the support of the communication chip for the corresponding radio frequency band.