Huawei phones are disappearing fast from the website of the New York-based retailer B&H Photo and it appears that it has no plans to restock. The only Huawei phone available on its website currently is the 128GB P30 Lite in the color Peacock Blue.
So, the U.S. consumers looking to buy a Huawei phone are mostly out of luck, as going forward, other retailers will probably also stop selling the company’s devices. Although B&H Photo hasn’t commented on the situation yet, it appears that the store is complying with the Trump administration’s ban on the company.
Previously, the Microsoft Store, Walmart, and Adorama had also stopped selling Huawei phones. And it’s not just phones that have been affected, as Huawei’s tablets and laptops are also slowly disappearing from the websites of American retailers. The only places where you can get Huawei devices in America right now include Amazon, eBay, and Swappa.
Keep in mind that these retailers are selling the unlocked international variants of Huawei phones, which means they will only work on AT&T and T-Mobile, and not on non-GSM carriers. Given the current state of affairs, it is not known whether Huawei phones will receive OS updates, so be mindful of this before making a purchase.
Huawei phones were never easy to come by in the U.S. because the company does not sell its phones officially in the country and carriers also do not offer them. Now with retailers dropping tech giant’s phones from their listings one by one, it will become near impossible to get a Huawei phone in the U.S. in the future unless the ban is lifted.
Even if Huawei somehow does manage to get its phone to the U.S., there is also a question of weakening demand. Popular apps and services such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Assistant will not be available on future Huawei phones and since these have become an indispensable part of the lives of many consumers, they would be unwilling to take a bet on newer phones.
Even in Europe, consumer interest in Huawei phones has started to go down. Analysts believe that the sales of Huawei phones will likely take a hit going forward and the company apparently thinks the same, as it has cut the production of its handsets.
Meanwhile, companies in America have also started to feel the heat. The technology industry is intertwined and since Huawei is the second largest smartphone vendor in the world in term of sales, its suppliers stateside will also be affected as a result of the ban. The semiconductor stocks in the U.S. plummeted in the wake of the decision and some of Huawei’s suppliers have said outright that blacklisting it will impact their financial performance. Skyworks, Qorvo, and Lumentum have also slashed their revenue forecast following the news.
The situation can worsen further as China has prepared its own blacklist and it will most likely include American companies. Given the stakes, chances are that the U.S. and China will reach a middle ground next month during the G20 summit.