Ahead of Apple’s iPhone 14 launch, Huawei unveils Mate 50 series with satellite connectivity

Ahead of global technology major Apple‘s rumoured iPhone 14 launch with satellite connectivity option, Chinese tech company Huawei has announced to launch the Mate 50 smartphone series that allows users to send text messages via satellite communication.

The Mate 50 and Mate 50 Pro smartphones will allow users to send short texts via China’s global BeiDou satellite network, allowing for communication in areas without connectivity.

Launching the Mate 50 smartphone series on Tuesday, Richard Yu, CEO, Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, said that the smartphones could support satellite-based short message service (SMS).

Advertisement

‹

EVENT

Cyber Surakshit Uttar Pradesh

Find out strategies, frameworks and solutions for building a resilient and secure digital ecosystem across Uttar Pradesh.

📅 Fri, 05 Jun 2026

📍 The Centrum, Lucknow

Register Now →

EVENT

VeeamON 2026 Tour India - Bengaluru

A VeeamON 2026 India Leadership Series Bengaluru for senior public sector and government technology leaders.

📅 Wed, 03 Jun 2026

📍 JW Marriott Hotel

Register Now →

EVENT

VeeamON 2026 Tour India - Delhi

A VeeamON 2026 India Leadership Series Delhi for senior public sector and government technology leaders.

📅 Fri, 19 Jun 2026

📍 Shangri-La Eros

Register Now →

EVENT

Infosec Reimagined

Infosec Reimagined 2026 is the premier information security summit where top leaders—CISOs, CROs, CIOs, CTOs and risk executives—converge to redefine cyber resilience.

📅 Fri, 26 Jun 2026

📍 New Delhi

Register Now →

EVENT

Digital Senate

Digital Senate is a premier conference uniting government leaders, technologists and innovators to share ideas, success stories and strategies on digital governance, public sector transformation, cybersecurity and emerging technologies in India.

📅 Thu, 30 Jul 2026

📍 New Delhi

Register Now →

EVENT

CIO Prism

CIO Prism unites forward-thinking technology leaders to exchange transformative insights, shape digital strategies, and foster innovation, empowering enterprises to excel in an era of rapid technological change.

📅 Fri, 18 Sep 2026

📍 Goa

Register Now →

›

A day earlier, Huawei had already released a teaser video indicating this capability, reports Digi Times. Yu said that Mate 50 is the world’s first smartphone supporting SMS based on China’s homegrown BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.

It would allow users to send emergency text messages and locations via satellites, even in areas beyond territorial network coverage.

The Mate 50 with 6.7-inch display and 90Hz OLED panel houses Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset with 8GB RAM. The Mate 50 Pro comes with a slightly bigger 6.74-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Both the smartphones offer a 50MP main rear camera with a variable aperture lens. The 50 Pro has an upgraded 64 MP camera capable of 200x digital zoom.