A new report today shed some light on an interesting new feature Apple was working on for the iPhone. According to The Information, Cupertino was developing a peer-to-peer walking talkie feature for the iPhone that would allow users to text each other without having a cellular connection.

The feature, internally codenamed Project ORGS (off-grid radio service) would use the 900MHz wireless technology that’s already used in the utility industry. The new feature would rely on Intel modems, and Apple was working closely with Intel to build the new feature, which is what made things tricky. It’s unclear exactly why Apple has stopped working on the project, but there are some speculations.

Rubén Caballero, who was in charge of the project and almost considered the project as “his baby”, left Apple earlier this year. And with Apple switching to Qualcomm modems, it’s been suspected as one of the reasons behind the company halting the project for the time being.

Here is the thing, though: Apple recently acquired Intel’s smartphone modem business for $1 billion, so there is a chance the company could pick up work on this new project in the future.

Tagged with Apple, Intel, iPhone, Project ORGS