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).

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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.