Huawei’s New Laptop Launch Further Shrouded in Mystery Following Contradicting Reports

Hours after CNBC reported that Huawei had scrapped the launch of a new laptop due to U.S. export controls, a source familiar with the matter told the Global Times that the company will release a new laptop next month.

The differing reports regarding Huawei’s laptop release has sparked confusion and concerns among the public. Huawei consumer division CEO Richard Yu has confirmed to CNBC on June 12 that the laptop launch will be put on hold indefinitely. The product was set to be revealed at the ongoing CES 2019 Asia show in Shanghai, but trade sanctions from the U.S. government are restricting Huawei’s ability to use American products such as Intel processors and Windows operating systems.

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When asked if the laptop could be launched at a later date, Yu replied that it would depend on how long Huawei will be blacklisted. If the company doesn’t get off the list, Yu acknowledged that the laptop will not be able to launch at all.

However, on June 13, an insider told the Global Times that the reports that Huawei had halted laptop production simply weren’t true.

The source claimed that reports about Huawei closing down its PC production lines due to export controls were baseless, and that the company will not change its strategy of continuously investing in PCs. The new laptop is expected to launch in July according to the insider.

At this moment, quoting a major spokesperson of Huawei like Richard Yu is providing more credibility for CNBC compared to Global Times’ anonymous insider. However, an additional direct quote from China Merchant Securities analyst Fang Jing added fuel to the fire: “The new laptop’s system will run based on ARM architecture that supports Windows, which shows that the cut-off of some technologies has very little impact on Huawei.“

“We would have become the largest in the fourth quarter (of this year) but now we feel that this process may take longer,” said Shao Yang, chief strategy officer of Huawei Consumer Business Group. The company was convinced that it could become the world’s biggest-selling smartphone vendor in 2019 even without the U.S. market. As the trade war heats up, it remains to be seen if it can reach its goal.

Featured photo credit to Huawei