Huawei Photo: VCG

Huawei said on Monday that it will unveil a new technology allowing communication signals to "go beyond the ground" and keep connected "at all times" during its Mate 50 series launch event scheduled on Tuesday, raising widespread discussions that the long-awaited high-end Mate 50 series will possibly support satellite communication, prior to the unveiling of Apple's latest iPhone version.

In a warm-up video Huawei launched on its official Weibo account, a satellite shaped signal pattern is seen flying into the sky, which Chinese netizens interpreted as an implication that the new flagship series might support satellite communication.

It also echoed with Huawei Consumer Business CEO, Richard Yu Chengdong's recent remarks, who unveiled that Huawei is about to release a new technology that "pierces the sky upwards". 

If it comes true, Huawei may become the first smartphone maker to bring satellite communication technology to mass markets, prior to the iPhone, industry analysts said.

"The technology might provide emergency short-message services through satellite communication supported by China's Beidou-3 Satellite Navigation System," a veteran industry analyst, who asked to be anonymous, told the Global Times on Monday. 

Several analysts explained that as satellites' coverage for signals is much larger than general mobile communication systems, it can play a significant role in emergency communication, as well as for military and national defense use. 

It indicates that the Beidou-3 short message communication service has entered a new stage of development from industrial application to mass application, the analyst said.

Beidou-3 is a short message, low-cost communication service which offers broad coverage, high reliability, and ubiquitous access. It has already played an active role in disaster relief and mitigation, and field search and rescue in recent years in China.

The US-sanctioned Chinese tech giant said it will launch the long-awaited high-end Mate 50 smartphone series on Tuesday, which industry observers said may signal a gradual recovery of what was once the world's No. 2 smartphone maker. 

According to industry analysts and media reports, several models are expected to be launched during the Tuesday event, which could include the Huawei Mate 50, Mate 50 Pro and Mate 50 RS. 

The new series has proven particularly popular among Chinese customers, with the number of reservations for the new phones in Huawei's official online mall exceeding 2 million now, according to media reports.

If the Huawei Mate 50 series receive a good market response, it will encourage other Chinese domestic high-end smartphone makers, which will help reduce the impact of the downward cycle of the consumer electronics market, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, a financial services group in the Asia-Pacific region.

Global Times