2018 is shaping up to be a rough year for Huawei's U.S. operations. The Chinese company, widely recognized as the world's third largest smartphone OEM behind Samsung and Apple, was set to sell its Mate10 Pro through AT&T before that carrier backed out of the deal. Now they're about to lose another American retail partner;
CNET reports that Best Buy will cease all sales of Huawei products over the next few weeks, and cancel any orders for new stock.
Americans, like Canadians, tend to finance their smartphone hardware through their carriers, so you could certainly argue that the fallout with AT&T was a bigger deal. Also, you can still buy Huawei phones unlocked through the likes of Amazon and Newegg. What you can't do with either of those online vendors, however, is see and handle your potential Huawei purchase on a physical store shelf.
Best Buy won't officially comment on their decision, but it almost certainly has something to do with security concerns
expressed by the CIA, FBI and NSA over Chinese firms. Huawei, on the other hand, has lots to say:
"Our products and solutions are used by major carriers, Fortune 500 companies and hundreds of millions of consumers in more than 170 countries around the world," said a spokesman. "We have earned the trust of our partners across the global value chain."
In case you were wondering it's still business as usual for Huawei in Canada, though there have been
some security concerns raised here as well.
Source:
CNET,
Globe and Mail
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