Only a week in the past we had been reporting on how the iPhone 14 may be the primary smartphone to supply satellite tv for pc communication, however because it seems it gained’t – as a result of Huawei simply obtained there first with the Huawei Mate 50 and Mate 50 Professional.

These two newly introduced smartphones each permit for texts to be despatched through China’s international BeiDou satellite tv for pc community. It’s a function designed for emergencies, so you may get in contact with emergency companies or family members when cell networks are down, as they may be at occasions once they’re most wanted – reminiscent of in warfare zones or pure disasters.

So it’s a distinct segment function – and one you’ll hopefully by no means want to make use of – but it surely may be a life-saving one. Huawei’s implementation of it sounds very restricted, with simply textual content messages supported by the sounds of issues – so you’ll be able to’t make calls, and seemingly you’ll be able to solely ship texts, not obtain them, utilizing this method. However nonetheless, it’s the primary to supply this, and that counts for one thing.

It is going to probably quickly have some critical competitors although, for the reason that iPhone 14 line is anticipated to land at the moment (September 7) and can reportedly supply an identical system. In reality, Apple’s strategy would possibly permit for calls as nicely, so it may instantly one-up Huawei’s. To not point out the truth that the iPhone 14 and its siblings will truly be obtainable within the US, whereas the Huawei Mate 50 line gained’t be.

However with T-Cellular partnering with Starlink for the same service within the close to future, and different corporations probably additionally now contemplating satellite tv for pc communication companies, we’d not be far off this changing into a mainstream function, obtainable on a variety of smartphones, and that may solely be factor.

Evaluation: what else the Huawei Mate 50 gives

Whereas its satellite tv for pc communication function is maybe probably the most eye-catching of the Huawei Mate 50’s specs, this cellphone – and much more so the Huawei Mate 50 Professional – isn’t missing for tech.

The Mate 50 Professional has a 6.74-inch 1212 x 2616 OLED display with a 120Hz refresh charge, a Snapdragon eight Plus Gen 1 chipset, 8GB of RAM, as much as 256GB of storage, water resistance, and a 4,700mAh battery with 66W charging.

It additionally has a triple-lens digital camera, with a 50MP important sensor, a 13MP ultra-wide, and a 64MP telephoto, providing as much as 200x digital zoom. Curiously, the principle lens additionally has an adjustable aperture, which may vary from f/1.Four to f/4.0. Adjustable apertures are a really uncommon sight on telephones, and by no means that variable.

The usual Huawei Mate 50 is a step down in some methods. It has the identical chipset, RAM quantity, and important and ultra-wide cameras, however the telephoto snapper is 12MP, and the cellphone has a 6.7-inch 1224 x 2700 90Hz show, and a smaller 4,460mAh battery with 66W charging.

As famous above these telephones gained’t be touchdown within the US, but it surely’s potential they’ll be offered within the UK and Australia. Notice, nevertheless, that neither mannequin gives 5G, in order that they’re most likely unlikely to make our listing of the very best telephones.