What you need to know
- Huawei's MateBook X Pro has been removed from the Microsoft Store.
- Huawei, a China-based company, was recently added to a trade blacklist by the U.S. Commerce Department.
- It's likely that the laptop's removal is related to its status on the blacklist, but Microsoft has yet to comment on how its relationship with Huawei is impacted.
- The MateBook X Pro continues to be available on Amazon, but stock is limited.
It appears recent escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China may have caused Microsoft to pull the MateBook X Pro from its online store. As first spotted by The Verge, Huawei's flagship laptop is no longer listed in the Microsoft Store, and searchers for Huawei on the store return no results.
Huawei last week was added to an export blacklist by the U.S. Department of Commerce, preventing U.S. companies from doing business with the Chinese tech giant without prior approval and putting the launch of future Huawei laptops in question. The export blacklist would cut off Huawei's access to chips from companies like Intel, Qualcomm and NVIDIA, but it's unclear what steps Microsoft has taken to comply with the order.
We've reached out to Microsoft for comment and will update this story if one is provided. For its part, The Verge reports that Microsoft "has refused to offer any statement on the situation."
In a previous statement provided to Windows Central, Huawei thoroughly rebuffed the Commerce Department's decision, stating:
Huawei is against the decision made by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce. This decision is in no one's interest. It will do significant economic harm to the American companies with which Huawei does business, affect tens of thousands of American jobs, and disrupt the current collaboration and mutual trust that exist on the global supply chain. Huawei will seek remedies immediately and find a resolution to this matter. We will also proactively endeavor to mitigate the impacts of this incident.
Yesterday, Huawei received a temporary reprieve of sorts related to its Android license, allowing it to continue development of future products and support current customers and devices through August 19.
Cheap PC accessories we love
Take a gander at these awesome PC accessories, all of which will enhance your Windows experience.
Anker 4 port USB 3.0 hub ($10 at Amazon)
Whether on a desktop or laptop PC, you always need more ports to connect things to. This hub gives you an additional four USB 3.0 Type A ports.
Ikea Fixa Cable Management System ($11 at Amazon)
This IKEA cable management kit is your ticket to a clean setup. It's simple and functional.
NZXT Puck ($20 at Amazon)
This clever little accessory has powerful magnets on the rear to make it stick to any of the metal panels on your PC case or anything else. It's great for hanging accessories like headsets.
