Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi bring satellite communication to their devices via Qualcomm

Qualcomm announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) that several phone makers including Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Motorola, Nothing and Honor are bringing satellite communication capabilities to their phones. However, the makers haven’t provided details on which devices will have these features for the first time and when the companies will launch them.

Qualcomm unveiled its Snapdragon Satellite technology in partnership with satellite service provider Iridium at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last month. With this solution, smartphones can have two-way SMS sending capabilities and other messaging applications using satellites in emergency situations.

The chipmaker said Snapdragon Satellite will be available on upcoming RF modems and several 8-series and 4-series processor models for smartphones.

“By incorporating Snapdragon Satellite in the next–generationdevices,our partnerswill be able to offerSatellite messaging capabilities through amature andcommercially availableworld constellation of LEO, which can allow subscribersaroundthe world to communicate outside with the emergency services suppliers, as well as family and friends,Francesco Grilli, Qualcomm vice president for product management, said in a statement.

Last year, Apple introduced satellite emergency communications capabilities with the iPhone 14 series – first in the US and Canada, then in France, Germany, Ireland and the UK via the Globestar satellite network. Last week, Samsung also announced its own satellite technology with the promise of integrating it into a future smartphone.

Additionally, British smartphone maker Bullitt – which also announced its own satellite technology at CES – announced a rugged smartphone with satellite connectivity a few days before MWC. Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek is also expected to showcase its satellite connectivity solution for smartphones at the event. This lays the foundation for future smartphones to have emergency satellite communication capabilities for remote areas where network connectivity is unreliable.