The Mate 50 series will allow users to send short messages via the BeiDou navigation satellite system, the Chinese version of the more widely used Global Positioning System developed by the US Air Force.
Huawei is the first major smartphone maker to roll out such a feature, beating out market leaders like Apple, which is also working on satellite connectivity.
The BeiDou network achieved worldwide coverage in 2020, a major milestone in Beijing’s efforts to create its own system for future communications, navigation and scientific research that does not rely on GPS or other global navigation systems, which include Russia’s GLONASS, the European Union’s Galileo and the IRNSS programme developed by India.
Huawei, which has been operating under a US crackdown since 2018, still has no access to the type of premium 5G mobile chips that are already standard in flagship phones from Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi.
Its smartphone shipments declined to just 37.5 million units for all of 2021, from 240.6 million in 2019, when it was the world’s second-largest handset maker, after Samsung, according to IDC data.
The Chinese tech champion was forced to sell its budget phone line Honor in late 2020. The former unit has been betting big on global expansion, recently launching a series of smartphones, tablets and laptop computers during the IFA Berlin electronics fair. Honor also pledged to bring its premium foldable phone to Europe by early 2023.
Satellite communications have a long history in military and disaster management applications, as they can operate in remote areas such as deserts, jungles and open oceans that lack conventional communication or location services.
Wireless mobile internet, by comparison, relies on nearby base stations for data transfers and phone calls.
Huawei’s latest phone will come with Qualcomm’s 4G version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile chipset.
Jeff Pu, an analyst with Haitong International Securities, said Huawei used a chip from developer CETC Acoustic-Optic-Electronic Technology to support satellite communications features. He said Huawei’s move could open a new frontier in the commercial use of such technologies in electronics devices.
“Currently, only Chinese chip developers are allowed to design chips that link to China’s BeiDou. It’s a business unique to Chinese companies,” Pu said. But Huawei’s breakthrough does not necessarily mean that users will be sending messages or making calls via satellite all the time, he added. “That could consume a lot of battery power and could be very expensive.”
Joey Yen, an analyst with IDC, told Nikkei Asia that Huawei has potentially opened up a new front in the global war for tech dominance. “The tech battleground has further advanced from 5G and AI to space and navigation satellite technologies.”