What we’re expecting
NB-NTN satellite messaging is a capability of the Snapdragon Wear Elite chip. If Watch 9 keeps the Exynos W1000, the feature isn't there. Even if Ultra 2 gets Snapdragon Wear Elite, Samsung hasn't confirmed whether satellite messaging will be switched on in software at launch, and it may arrive in a later update. Adversarial verification was unable to confirm this as a Watch 9 feature.
Satellite connectivity that works without a cell tower sounds like a big deal for a smartwatch, but the Galaxy Watch 9 may not actually get it. The feature is tied to the processor inside the watch, and Samsung is reportedly reusing the same Exynos W1000 chip from the Watch 8 series rather than upgrading to something newer that supports it. So the headline feature might ship in a product that doesn't include the Watch 9 at all.