Despite its dominance in the global smartphone market, Chinese OEM Huawei has yet to make a significant presence in one of the most sought-after smartphone markets in the world.
Until recently, this lack of a major presence in the U.S. was expected to end with a deal between Huawei and two of the country’s top carriers in Verizon Wireless and AT&T. Towards the end of 2017, it was rumored that the Huawei Mate 10 series will be coming to the country through the two carriers, with AT&T expected to start selling the phone somewhere in February. However, following the official launch of the Huawei Mate 10 Pro and Mate 10 Porsche Design at the CES 2018, it seems none of these phones will be making it to either carrier.
Expectations were high that Huawei will confirm the deal to sell the Mate 10 series through both or one of the carriers. But according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, this deal has been canceled. To shed more light on the matter, The Information claims that AT&T was under political pressure to back out of the deal, something that has a lot to do with the relations between the U.S. and Chinese governments. At some point, it was claimed that Huawei phones are used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans, something the Chinese OEM strongly refutes.
To sum up Huawei’s failed efforts to break into the American market, it’s now emerging that Verizon Wireless is also under the same political pressure to back out of the deal to sell Huawei Mate 10 Pro and Mate 10 Porsche Design to the American people. On the brighter side, those interested in the two phones can still grab either via the usual channels (Best Buy, Amazon, B&H Photo, Newegg or Microsoft), but they aren’t coming on the cheap.
Where the Huawei Mate 10 Pro will be priced at $799, the Mate 10 Porsche Design will set you back a cool $1,225. Both phones will be available for purchase beginning February 18. For the uninitiated, you can check out the two phones’ specs and features here.
