Huawei Cancels Laptop Launch As Vice Grip Tightens From US Ban
Huawei is still having a no good, horrible, very bad day in the wake of a US ban over spying concerns. The fallout from the ban has been growing, and the latest casualty to Huawei's business operations is the cancellation of a new Matebook laptop launch. There was just no other plausible outcome possible, with American companies being cut off from supplying parts to Huawei.
US intelligence agencies have long warned that Huawei is likely spying on behalf of the Chinese government. Huawei has repeatedly denied the accusations, and instead says its advancements in 5G technology is at the root of the US government's aggression towards the Chinese telecom and electronics manufacturer.
"This ban not only is unlawful, but also restricts Huawei from engaging in fair competition, ultimately harming U.S. consumers,” Huawei said in a legal filing against the US government. “We look forward to the court's verdict, and trust that it will benefit both Huawei and the American people."
As it pertains to the cancelled laptop launch, Huawei's CEO of its consumer division, Richard Yu, told CNBC that the company "cannot supply the PC," and called the situation "unfortunate."
At issue for Huawei is its inclusion on the US Entity List. This prohibits American firms from selling goods to Huawei. That means it cannot buy processors from Intel or AMD, nor can it source modems from Qualcomm or Broadcom. It also can't get hardware from ARM, should Huawei consider going that route instead of x86 for its laptops (it's a bigger blow to its smartphone operations).
Even if Huawei had a reserve of hardware to use, it may also be prevented from licensing Windows 10 for its laptops, which would be yet another crippling blow. It's all moot, though, because whatever Matebook launch Huawei had in mind has been put on the chopping block.
