This article will give head to head information on the Zoleo Satellite Communicator versus the Motorola Defy Satellite Link. The Defy is set to hit the market in April of 2023, and looks to be a direct competitor with the Zoleo, or Garmin InReach Messenger.
I personally have a Zoleo communicator. But will I be switching to the new Motorola communicator, when it hits the streets in April? Well, let’s see what we know about it so far, and compare it to the Zoleo.
Related: Take a look at my Zoleo Satellite Communicator long form review for a more in depth look at the Zoleo device.
This article was written in late February of 2023, 2 months before the Defy’s release.
Zoleo vs Defy (what we know about it before its launch)
| Specification | Zoleo | Defy |
|---|---|---|
| Satellite Network | Iridium | Skylo |
| Weight | 5 oz. | 2.4 oz. |
| Battery Size | 1,430mAh | 600mAh |
| Water and Dust Resistance | IP68 | IP68 |
| Operating Temperature | -4 to 131°F | -22 to 131°F |
| Check-In Messaging | Yes, GPS check ins, no phone needed | Yes, GPS check ins, no phone needed |
| SOS Activation of Global Rescue | Yes, no phone needed | Yes, no phone needed |
| SOS Service | Global Rescue | FocusPoint International |
| Two-way Texting via SMS | Yes, recipients of messages can just reply on their phones like normal. They can write longer messages using the app, before the Zoleo account holder is charged for more than one message. | Yes, but recipients will need to install the Defy app to reply to messages. |
| Two-way Email Messaging | Yes | Not stated |
| Weather Report | Yes | Not stated |
| Automatic Location Sharing With Breadcrumb Map | Yes, for additional charge | Not stated |
| Find My Device (When Misplaced) | Yes | Not stated |
| Uses Cellular Networks When Possible | Yes, you won’t use your monthly satellite message allotment, if the message goes through a cellular network. | Yes, but likely, because of the way the Skylo Network operates, your messages will be deducted from your monthly allotment. |
| Basic Plan Charge per Month | $20 | $4.99 |
| Number of Free Messages on Basic Plan per Month | 25, one-way messages | 30, two-way messages |
| SOS Services Messaging Cost | Unlimited, free SOS messaging | No charge to communicate with SOS services. |
| Cost of Device | $199 (got mine for $150 on Cyber Monday) | $99 |
Advantages and Disadvantages
Iridium Network Versus Skylo Network
The Iridium Network is comprised of 66 working satellites and 9 extra ‘spare’ satellites that cover every inch of the Earth’s surface, in terms of communication coverage. This means the Iridium Network covers 196.9 million square miles of surface. Though their polar coverage isn’t the best, I’ve heard.
The Skylo Network uses satellites, and other Non Terrestrial Network (NTN) nodes, to cover 13.7 million square miles of surface, according to their website
Theoretically, this means the Skylo network only provides less than 10% of the coverage the Iridium Network provides. Though the Skylo website says they can track ocean going vessels.
I’m guessing they are targeting gaps in high traffic areas of the globe, and closing the cell service gaps in those areas.
So for now, when it comes to the Zoleo vs the Defy, I’m going to say Zoleo is the winner, in terms of being able to communicate anywhere on Earth, regardless of how remote it is.
Battery Size
At first the Zoleo looks to be the winner in terms of battery capacity.
But the Defy, operating on the Skylo network, utilizing the NTN tech, should not use more battery charge communicating via satellites than it would communicating with the local cellular tower. That means it doesn’t need a large battery to communicate with satellites.
During battery stress tests, Skylo connected devices were able to send 10 messages over satellite while only consuming about 4-10 mAH in doing so. That means theoretically the Defy could send between 540 and 1,350 messages on its 600mAh battery at 90% depth of discharge, and zero floating power consumption (which doesn’t exist in the real world).
How the Zoleo vs Defy stacks up, during real world use, regarding their batteries, we’ll have to see.
The biggest battery consumption happens on these devices when you activate SOS and they start pinging out your coordinates on a regular frequency. So that will be something to watch for, when the Defy starts racking up mileage on the trail.
Messaging and Communications
Right now, it looks like the Zoleo is the winner, in terms of messaging, mostly because Motorola hasn’t given the details as far as email, weather, and sending contacts a way point breadcrumbs map of your location, when the device is powered up.
Even so, Zoleo seems more user friendly in that you have a dedicated cell number for the device, and your friends and family can just text it on their normal and daily messaging platform on their phones. The Defy can send messages to friends and family, but then they have the burden of putting the Defy app on their phones, to send a message back to you.
Plans and Cost
It looks like the Defy may be cheaper to own and operate. With its $99 price tag and $4.99/mo. plan, it’s certainly more affordable than the $199 Zoleo, with its lowest priced plan of $20/mo.
Plus its press release thus far makes it seem like a message to a contact, and that contact’s reply back to you, all count as just 1 of the 30 free messages you are allotted on the Defy. We’ll have to see how it really works, when it’s out.
However the way the Skylo network is set up, with its combo of satellites, high altitude platform stations, drones, and whatever else is around with an antenna on it, it almost feels like they are going to count any message whatsoever against your limit.
With Zoleo, only the messages that don’t go through the terrestrial cellular network are the ones that get counted against your limit. If your Zoleo has cell service the entire time of, say a weekend trip, then congrats, you didn’t waste any of your 20 free satellite messages.
So on the surface it looks like the Defy has more messages per month, but it may not, depending on how your messages make it to your contacts.
Conclusion
Based on Zoleo’s Iridium Network alone, I could say I probably won’t make the switch to Defy.
But right now, Defy also looks to be a bare bones messaging service, with Zoleo offering more in app features. We’ll have to see when it finally comes out, as the app is not on the Apple app store as of the time of writing.
And the concept that people that get your messages have to be aware that they can’t respond without first downloading an app seems harsh. What if I’m out in the middle of nowhere and want to randomly text my neighbor, because I forgot a package was going to be left on my doorstep? I can, but they may not know how to download the app to respond that they got the package okay.
Thanks for reading my article on the Zoleo vs the Motorola Defy. I’ve started to build a hiking navigation and communication page, so check there, from time to time, for new articles on the topics. Otherwise check out my main hiking, camping, and California living page by clicking this link.