Counterpoint has recently shared a prediction, saying that global satellite phone sales could reach 46% by 2030, driven by Huawei, Apple, Samsung, and Google. Many OEMs are now accelerating their adoption of the respective communication technology.
Huawei was the first smartphone brand to welcome satellite connectivity in the market. The “satellite phone” trend began in 2022 with the Mate 50 series, allowing users to send messages without depending on the cellular network.
But due to the US restrictions, the company didn’t introduce this capability on the global stage. Over the years, Huawei has elevated satellite communication by adding the ability of two-way messaging and calling services.
Following Huawei, tech vendors like Apple and Honor began developing satellite connectivity-enabled smartphones. Samsung and Google also joined the race.
The latest report on this matter now suggests that satellite communication is ready to hit a crucial growth stage with the help of the 3GPP NTN solution. It is a standard satellite integration into 5G networks that allows direct-to-device connection.
Currently, the iPhone maker has the largest share of the global satellite phone sales market in 2025 – 71.6%, and Samsung is second in this queue with 15.9% market share.
(Image Credits: Counterpoint)
Huawei appeared in the third spot with 6.1% of the market share. Google (2.2%) and Honor (1.9%) ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. According to Soumen Mandal, the Principal Analyst of Counterpoint:
“Apple remains the leading smartphone OEM in terms of NTN-capable smartphone shipments, while Samsung leads the Android ecosystem. Similar to Apple, Huawei, and Google follow the proprietary NTN approach.”
Other Android players like Samsung, Xiaomi, Honor, and more have aligned with the 3GPP NTN solution for broader scalability and interoperability. Apart from phone brands, chipmakers like Qualcomm and MediaTek are also adopting the NTN tech.
Currently, Release 17-based satellite smartphone growth is limited due to the lack of killer use cases. However, Release 19 is expected to have broader mid-tier adoption.
Thus, Huawei, Apple, Samsung, and Google are in anticipation of driving global satellite phone sales by 46% up to 2030 with the help of the Release 19 solution.
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