The U.S government’s push to stop Huawei from gaining grounds in the U.S market has again reared its ugly head. Huawei recently launched the Honor 7X as Mate SE in the U.S and the midrange smartphone is presently available on Amazon and Best Buy for $229. But according to a report by CNBC, the device is “from a company that the U.S. government has warned consumers against purchasing products from”.

There isn’t an indication of a fresh report that specifically warns against the Mate SE but the news report seems to re-echo the warning issued last month by leaders of the CIA, FBI and NSA, as well as the director of national intelligence, which stated that private citizens in the U.S. shouldn’t buy phones from two major Chinese smartphone and telecommunication equipment manufacturers, Huawei and ZTE.

The FBI Director Chris Wray while testifying during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in February had stated among other things that; “We’re deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks.” The FBI director also expressed concerns that such products gives Chinese smartphone makers access or even “control” over the U.S. telecommunications system and “provides the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information” and “conduct undetected espionage.”

Read More: Huawei Looking To Strengthen UK Ties After US Expansion Plan Falls Through

There has been no established evidence that this is the case with Huawei. The company, as well as ZTE denied any malicious activities over their operations in the U.S or elsewhere. Huawei in a statement released to CNBC last month stated that; “Huawei is aware of a range of U.S. government activities seemingly aimed at inhibiting Huawei’s business in the U.S. market”. The statement continued, “Huawei is trusted by governments and customers in 170 countries worldwide and poses no greater cybersecurity risk than any ICT vendor, sharing as we do common global supply chains and production capabilities.” While we are not in a position to speak on such security concerns, it is possible this is just a ploy to prevent the company from edging out Apple from its stronghold. The Mate 10 Pro was a formidable device that could have shaken the U.S market but at the last minute, AT&T backed down from an agreement to sell the model in the U.S. Of course, the U.S market is carrier-dependent and so it is difficult to break into the market without the support of the major carriers. Huawei is now shifting its focus to the UK and India.

(source)

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It appears Huawei and its sub-brand Honor, enjoy confusing its customers. The Chinese giant is fond of releasing the same phone under different names in multiple markets. While that is a bit “understandable”, what we do not get is releasing the same phone under two different names in the same market.

The Honor 7X currently sold in the US market is the 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM variant. In other markets, the mid-ranger is also available with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

Rather than launch it in a higher configuration in the US, Huawei is releasing a “brand” new model called the Huawei Mate SE!

The Mate SE has the same design, specs, and even the same Bond (BND-LXX) model number as the Honor 7X. So why not just call it the Honor 7X?

Pictures of the phone were first released on Twitter last night by Evan Blass, but he had incorrectly referred to it as a “Huawei-branded Honor 8 Pro”. Of course it is easy to see it is not the Honor 8 Pro as it as an 18:9 display.

Nevertheless, another leaker Roland Quandt (@rquandt) then corrected him with proofs that the phone is actually the Huawei Mate SE.

The phone is already on the Huawei US support page where you can download the user manual and quick start guide. The quick start guide also reveals that the phone will be available in Latin America.

Apart from that, it is currently listed on B&H but doesn’t have a price tag yet. A web cache also revealed an Amazon listing with a $249 price tag.

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There is no news as to when the phone will be available for purchase but when it does, it will come unlocked in gray and gold – two colors that the Honor 7X isn’t available in in the US.

(Sources: 1, 2)

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