Huawei got some good news today: Microsoft has re-listed the company's MateBook laptops on its online store.
Microsoft pulled Huawei's products from its online marketplace in May. The decision to pull the laptops was likely made in response to the U.S. Department of Commerce putting Huawei on the Entity List a week prior, but Microsoft didn't officially comment on their removal. Now several Huawei laptops: the MateBook X Pro, MateBook D and MateBook 13 have quietly reappeared on the Microsoft Store website.
All three laptops are visible on the Microsoft Store's laptop page as well as via the website's search results. But strangely enough Huawei isn't included as an option for "Manufacturer," and the company's products are the only ones that appear on the site without any savings. There are plenty of reasons why that might be the case, from technical delays to coincidence, but with Huawei it's hard to tell at this point.
Starting to sell MateBook laptops again doesn't mean that Microsoft plans to flout the U.S. ban on working with Huawei. The Bureau of Industry and Security announced shortly after Huawei's addition to the Entity List that it was issuing a special 90-day license to help American companies manage losing Huawei's business. Microsoft could just be taking advantage of that 90-day license to clear inventory.
Either way, being able to sell the MateBook via Microsoft's online storefront is a small win for Huawei, which could probably use it. The company reduced its revenue forecast for 2019 by $30 billion today, and it's clear that for all its statements to the contrary, being cut off from the American market and tech industry will be hard for it to bear. At least now it can sell a few more laptops until August.
