In addition to a satellite enabled chip, It might be worth adding a few extra features that would fit well with satellite messaging and SOS, such as:
- Wet screen finger tracking technology
(screens of regular phones are often hard to operate in wet conditions)
- Very long battery life
(This is really important for high performing power-hungry flagship phones but even more for a phone you might have to use when cellular network isn't an option)
- Increased impact resistance
Maybe not MIL-STD-810H (or maybe yes) but above average impact resistance construction would definitely be a nice feature.
This could even be an opportunity to bring back a Samsung S Active model, or if not as part of the S series maybe in a new dedicated Active series. In the market there is definitely still room for Active models which should not be confused with the average rugged phones: an Active phone would have flagship or near-flagship specs (chips and camera) plus satellite-enabled chip as well as a set of features that might be needed when communicating without regular networks, such as those highlighted above - e.g.: wet fingerprint technology, extra long battery life, some impact resistance, etc.
There is definitely a gap in the market right now: you can get a rugged smartphone - which usually means huge and extremely heavy business-oriented, underperforming mid-range phones - or a regular smartphone. The only exceptions currently available seem to be the Nokia XR21 and maybe the Motorola ThinkPhone. Calling them flagship is a stretch though.
