Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro won’t be sold in the US

The Huawei Mate 20
Pro.
Shona Ghosh/Business
Insider

• Huawei won’t be selling its latest flagship devices,
  the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro smartphones, in the US.
• That’s because the company is locked out of the US
  market thanks to government fears that it spies on people for
  China.
• Huawei is the second-biggest smartphone maker globally,
  and has won a reputation for building flashy, feature-packed
  Android phones that rival the iPhone and Google’s Pixel
  series.
• The new Mate 20 Pro goes up against the iPhone XS Max
  and features on-screen fingerprint recognition, artificial
  intelligence, and an impressive camera.

Huawei, the Chinese phone brand that is more popular than Apple
globally, has confirmed it won’t be selling its new flagship
devices, the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro, in the US.

A spokesman confirmed to Business Insider on Monday: “We are not
planning to sell the Mate 20 Series in the US. While
international variants of the Mate 20 Series may be available on
some US online retail sites, we encourage individuals to
carefully read the details about the warranty and network
compatibility before purchasing.”

Huawei does, however, plan to bring its new smartwatch, the Watch
GT, to the US, but hasn’t announced price or availability yet.

Huawei’s statement suggests that die-hard fans will be able to
buy European or Asian versions of the phone, but will need to
check if their network supports imported devices. The Mate 20
series, for example, uses the GSM standard but some US carriers
like Sprint only support CDMA.

The Chinese firm’s absence from the US market will likely
disappoint Android fans who
can’t easily get hold of one of the most exciting Android
releases this year.

The company launched its Mate 20 series at a packed event in
London on October 16, unveiling the Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, and
Mate 20 Pro X.
The company overtook Apple in August to become the world’s
second-biggest phone maker behind Samsung, with a market share of
15.8%, according to IDC data.

The Mate 20 Pro, starting at €1,049 ($1,215), is expensive, but
cheaper and more feature-packed than the $1,099 iPhone XS Max.
Its standout features include on-screen fingerprint recognition,
facial recognition, built-in artificial intelligence, and an
impressive triple-lens camera that takes beautiful macro and wide
shots.
You can read Business Insider’s first look here.

The Mate series also goes up against Google’s Pixel 3, Pixel 3
XL, and Samsung’s Note 9. Forrester analyst Thomas Husson told
Business Insider it would likely be the best-selling Android
smartphone until Samsung releases its new flagship next year.

The US is suspicious that Huawei spies on users for the Chinese
government

Huawei started out as a telecommunications equipment company, but
gained attention for its well-made, feature-packed Android phones
from around 2013. It even briefly partnered with Google to create
one of its own-brand Nexus phones.

But at the end of 2017, the US government reportedly began
pressuring domestic carriers not to offer Chinese phones over
spying fears. The government has never publicly offered proof
that Huawei might be spying on customers, or even outlined its
concerns in any detail.

What did happen publicly was that
US carrier AT&T cancelled an agreement to carry Huawei’s
Mate 10 Pro, the predecessor to the Mate 20 series that was
expected to mark Huawei’s big push into the US. Bloomberg

reported that Verizon also dropped Huawei’s phones, and

Reuters reported retailer Best Buy wouldn’t offer them
either.

This essentially locked Huawei out of the US and, at the time,

consumer mobile CEO Richard Yu reacted furiously. He said:
““[It’s] a big loss for consumers, because they don’t have the
best choice for devices.”

Yu kept his cool this time presenting the Mate 20 series, but the
company’s ongoing absence from the US is undoubtedly a blow.