Huawei loses another U.S. partner as Best Buy plans to stop selling its products (Update)
Update, March 22: According to a Bloomberg report, Best Buy won't just stop selling Huawei phones but its laptops, tablets, smartwatches, and all Honor products, too.
According to CNET, Huawei is set to lose another U.S. sales outlet as Best Buy plans to stop selling unlocked Huawei phones. While neither the retailer nor the manufacturer is commenting at this time, Best Buy has reportedly failed to renew its inventory for devices like the Mate 10 Pro, which went on sale in February. Along with Best Buy, the phone is sold at Amazon, Microsoft Stores, Newegg, and B&H Photo Video.
The move comes after both AT&T and Verizon were convinced by the Trump administration, and by public pleas from leaders of the U.S. intelligence agencies, not to sell the phone. Huawei is the number three smartphone vendor in the world, but it has close ties to China's Communist Party, and there is persistent fear among U.S. law enforcement that there may be unforseen backdoors to allow access to U.S. data. Carriers have been implicitly forbidden from using Huawei network equipment since 2012.
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Daniel Bader was a former Android Central Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editor for iMore and Windows Central.