This doesn't really work. If you've looked at some of the calculations for SpaceX's constellation (probably the highest bandwidth one proposed so far), it is completely insufficient for even medium sized cities.
There is also a question of what sort of antenna the phones will use to connect with the satellites. My understanding is that modern sat phones are pretty low bandwidth and aren't really the sleak and slim design we've come to expect from Apple.
> can let illegal imports take care of situations where there is the potential for bans e.g. patents or Russia.
Probably not possible either. They're going to need plenty of base stations, which are easy to ban with court order.
> 2) No more dealing with Qualcomm and 5/6G standards bodies and having them dictate where the industry goes.
We'll see. If the problem is with patents instead of technical ability then this will be easier than I expect.
> 4) No more dealing with foreign governments blocking websites, demanding apps be installed, intercepting traffic and by extension far less jailing and killing of dissidents, minorities, journalists etc.
Again, they're going to need base stations. The parts of the world that regularly do that stuff are usually pretty poor, which means pretty low iPhone penetration.
If Apple can pull this off, it'd be great for them. I'm not very optimistic.