Ok so technically it's Dec 31, 2024, but I have historically done this sort of a review of the reviews near the beginning of the year. No need to wait until Feb 1 to do what I can do today.
There have been a few 2 way developments over the course of 2024 that are now available at the start of 2025 so I'll go over what I see, obviously with my own bias, and also post up links for professional reviews/comparisons.
I'll also look at the MONTHLY FEES and what you actually get for the fees to try to give a real comparison. I've found the magazine reviews are historically lacking in comparing the SUBSCRIPTIONS and the features that each provides, they may provide a basic price comparison but historically the FEATURE sets were very different. HINT, one of the developments in these things is a pretty significant change in at least 1 major plan.
NEW, NOTABLE and now widely available . . . but as you will see later in the thread, NEW TECHNOLOGIES for Direct to Device Satellite with Cellular SmartPhones are not too far into the future. Not ready for "prime time" just yet, but it is possible that by the end of the year, or perhaps 2 years from now, most of these devices may be obsolete?
-- Garmin In-Reach Messenger PLUS with short AUDIO and PHOTO transfers
-- iPhones now widely include a satellite emergency communicator.
-- Garmin dramatically increased its "free" message quantity
First off, my take on GARMIN.
The various reviews all give high marks to Garmin In-Reach Messenger, some suggest the Messenger PLUS is "better" and recommend both. If I owned one, it would likely NOT be the Messenger PLUS unit. The standard Messenger has a 28 day battery life and actual tests indicate that is a pretty fair claim. The Messenger PLUS, gets nothing close to that, and can run out of battery in as little as 5 days, if the power is not turned down to low power. So for simple safety's sake, I'd pass on the shorter battery life of the more expensive Messenger PLUS.
For that matter, given that the, still unchanged Garmin In-Reach MINI-2 has more features than the Messenger units, and has a 14 day open sky battery life, and it has MAPPING which neither the Messenger nor the Messenger PLUS have, I might pass on both of the Messenger units and go with the MINI-2 for mapping alone if I was spending time on/off trails and in the back country. So for longest battery life, the standard Messenger is the best Garmin option, but if you want mapping and navigation, then the MINI-2 is the best Garmin option and still has an honest 2 weeks of battery life.
The one thing the MINI-2 does not have, which both the Messenger & Messenger PLUS have, is ability to link to a wifi. But I ask, since all 3 of these devices practically require you connect your Smartphone to your SatCom, and since you Smartphone can also connect to wifi, then what is the safety net provided by the ability to connect to wifi?
And GARMIN has a NEW monthly plan with MORE "free" messages, making their plan more competitive to people who are looking to send messages. GARMIN's two lower level consumer plans used to only come with 10 custom messages per month, that has been increased to 50 messages per month.
Both the ZOLEO and the ACR BivyStick units are unchanged from last year. Neither has any screen at all, both require a SmartPhone connection for pretty much anything other than sending an S-O-S call. Both use the same Iridium satellite network, which is world wide and robust.
SPOT X, which is on the GlobalStar satellite network, is the clunkiest design, and the network is both slower and smaller than Iridium, but it offers coverage over North America and Europe. So if you are basically in those areas, having the smaller network is not really a drawback. The fact that it is slightly slower can be bothersome but in practical application is not really an issue because NONE of these units from any brand on any network allow you to carry on a live conversation. Figure roughly 10 minutes between transmission of a message and receipt, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. SPOT X is the only brand to have a built in keyboard and is the easiest of all brands to use without need to connect to a SmartPhone. If "breadcrumb" tracking and message flexibility are your primary goals, then SPOT X has historically been the cheapest long term solution. The subscription plans seem unchanged. Message flexibility is wider than the other services, 14 user-defined, pre-loaded messages can be uploaded into the unit and sending them is FREE/UNLIMITED. There is also FREE/UNLIMITED use of the "check in" message, which would be the 15th message in the system. (DISCLAIMER, I own, use and am happy with a SPOT X but the new plans from GARMIN could make me switch to an In-Reach MINI-2 if my SPOT X fails)
Apple iPhones (at least all the upper level models) now have Satellite communications for EMERGENCY USE ONLY. They also use the GlobalStar network and Apple has been launching newly designed, higher capacity, faster transmission GlobalStar satellites for the past 2+ years. In various speed tests, Apple's iPhones have connected and sent signals thru satellites faster than any other consumer hardware device, regardless of network.
ABOVE are BivyStick, Zoleo and Garmin plans, all of which use the same Iridium Satellite system.
BELOW is the SPOT X plan, which uses the more limited GlobalStar Satellite system.
You need to DEFINE YOUR PERSONAL uses and priorities before you buy any brand of Satellite Communicator because the plans can end up costing you a lot of money if you are not careful. So the hardware cost is just the beginning of the cost.
If you need a lot of, what I refer to as "breadcrumb" tracking so your family or coworkers can track your path on a digital map, the SPOT X is probably still the cheapest to do that, by a wide margin, because it is built into the plan with 10 minute tracking free of charge. But the Iridium plans offer this, at various fees.
If you plan to travel to remote regions of Africa, or sailing across an ocean in a sailboat, then GARMIN, ZOLEO or BIVYStick would be your choices because SPOT doesn't go there, do that. But then you need to decide what features you want from that point in terms of breadcrumb tracking, messaging, weather reports, etc as each of the Iridium based plans charges different rates for those features.
If you want GROUP tracking of multiple people by multiple people then very likely the ACR BIVYStick is probably your best option although GARMIN and ZOLEO units have a location sharing feature, neither seem as robust for groups as the BIVYStick.
If messaging flexibility is a high priority then SPOT X is your clear choice with the ability to upload 14 custom messages that have UNLIMITED send usage.
If you want Weather Reports then the IRIDUM based units are your choice, as all 3 of those offer the ability to get weather service, but with various functionality and at various prices.
There have been a few 2 way developments over the course of 2024 that are now available at the start of 2025 so I'll go over what I see, obviously with my own bias, and also post up links for professional reviews/comparisons.
I'll also look at the MONTHLY FEES and what you actually get for the fees to try to give a real comparison. I've found the magazine reviews are historically lacking in comparing the SUBSCRIPTIONS and the features that each provides, they may provide a basic price comparison but historically the FEATURE sets were very different. HINT, one of the developments in these things is a pretty significant change in at least 1 major plan.
NEW, NOTABLE and now widely available . . . but as you will see later in the thread, NEW TECHNOLOGIES for Direct to Device Satellite with Cellular SmartPhones are not too far into the future. Not ready for "prime time" just yet, but it is possible that by the end of the year, or perhaps 2 years from now, most of these devices may be obsolete?
-- Garmin In-Reach Messenger PLUS with short AUDIO and PHOTO transfers
-- iPhones now widely include a satellite emergency communicator.
-- Garmin dramatically increased its "free" message quantity
First off, my take on GARMIN.
The various reviews all give high marks to Garmin In-Reach Messenger, some suggest the Messenger PLUS is "better" and recommend both. If I owned one, it would likely NOT be the Messenger PLUS unit. The standard Messenger has a 28 day battery life and actual tests indicate that is a pretty fair claim. The Messenger PLUS, gets nothing close to that, and can run out of battery in as little as 5 days, if the power is not turned down to low power. So for simple safety's sake, I'd pass on the shorter battery life of the more expensive Messenger PLUS.
For that matter, given that the, still unchanged Garmin In-Reach MINI-2 has more features than the Messenger units, and has a 14 day open sky battery life, and it has MAPPING which neither the Messenger nor the Messenger PLUS have, I might pass on both of the Messenger units and go with the MINI-2 for mapping alone if I was spending time on/off trails and in the back country. So for longest battery life, the standard Messenger is the best Garmin option, but if you want mapping and navigation, then the MINI-2 is the best Garmin option and still has an honest 2 weeks of battery life.
The one thing the MINI-2 does not have, which both the Messenger & Messenger PLUS have, is ability to link to a wifi. But I ask, since all 3 of these devices practically require you connect your Smartphone to your SatCom, and since you Smartphone can also connect to wifi, then what is the safety net provided by the ability to connect to wifi?
And GARMIN has a NEW monthly plan with MORE "free" messages, making their plan more competitive to people who are looking to send messages. GARMIN's two lower level consumer plans used to only come with 10 custom messages per month, that has been increased to 50 messages per month.
Both the ZOLEO and the ACR BivyStick units are unchanged from last year. Neither has any screen at all, both require a SmartPhone connection for pretty much anything other than sending an S-O-S call. Both use the same Iridium satellite network, which is world wide and robust.
SPOT X, which is on the GlobalStar satellite network, is the clunkiest design, and the network is both slower and smaller than Iridium, but it offers coverage over North America and Europe. So if you are basically in those areas, having the smaller network is not really a drawback. The fact that it is slightly slower can be bothersome but in practical application is not really an issue because NONE of these units from any brand on any network allow you to carry on a live conversation. Figure roughly 10 minutes between transmission of a message and receipt, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. SPOT X is the only brand to have a built in keyboard and is the easiest of all brands to use without need to connect to a SmartPhone. If "breadcrumb" tracking and message flexibility are your primary goals, then SPOT X has historically been the cheapest long term solution. The subscription plans seem unchanged. Message flexibility is wider than the other services, 14 user-defined, pre-loaded messages can be uploaded into the unit and sending them is FREE/UNLIMITED. There is also FREE/UNLIMITED use of the "check in" message, which would be the 15th message in the system. (DISCLAIMER, I own, use and am happy with a SPOT X but the new plans from GARMIN could make me switch to an In-Reach MINI-2 if my SPOT X fails)
Apple iPhones (at least all the upper level models) now have Satellite communications for EMERGENCY USE ONLY. They also use the GlobalStar network and Apple has been launching newly designed, higher capacity, faster transmission GlobalStar satellites for the past 2+ years. In various speed tests, Apple's iPhones have connected and sent signals thru satellites faster than any other consumer hardware device, regardless of network.
ABOVE are BivyStick, Zoleo and Garmin plans, all of which use the same Iridium Satellite system.
BELOW is the SPOT X plan, which uses the more limited GlobalStar Satellite system.
You need to DEFINE YOUR PERSONAL uses and priorities before you buy any brand of Satellite Communicator because the plans can end up costing you a lot of money if you are not careful. So the hardware cost is just the beginning of the cost.
If you need a lot of, what I refer to as "breadcrumb" tracking so your family or coworkers can track your path on a digital map, the SPOT X is probably still the cheapest to do that, by a wide margin, because it is built into the plan with 10 minute tracking free of charge. But the Iridium plans offer this, at various fees.
If you plan to travel to remote regions of Africa, or sailing across an ocean in a sailboat, then GARMIN, ZOLEO or BIVYStick would be your choices because SPOT doesn't go there, do that. But then you need to decide what features you want from that point in terms of breadcrumb tracking, messaging, weather reports, etc as each of the Iridium based plans charges different rates for those features.
If you want GROUP tracking of multiple people by multiple people then very likely the ACR BIVYStick is probably your best option although GARMIN and ZOLEO units have a location sharing feature, neither seem as robust for groups as the BIVYStick.
If messaging flexibility is a high priority then SPOT X is your clear choice with the ability to upload 14 custom messages that have UNLIMITED send usage.
If you want Weather Reports then the IRIDUM based units are your choice, as all 3 of those offer the ability to get weather service, but with various functionality and at various prices.
