Why Huawei's major shift away from Windows is a big deal
Huawei will no longer be able to preinstall Windows on its laptops by March-end.
If there’s one thing Huawei has learned in the past few years, it’s how to survive without American tech. First, it was cut off from Google services in 2019 and scrambled to build its own operating system, HarmonyOS, as a replacement. Now, it looks like Windows is next.
For years, Huawei’s MateBook laptops have run Windows, just like any other major PC brand. But that’s about to change. Microsoft’s license to supply Windows to Huawei is expiring at the end of March 2025, and given the ongoing U.S. sanctions, a renewal isn’t looking likely.
The company has been on the U.S. government’s Entity List for years, which makes doing business with American firms a legal headache. Unless Microsoft gets special approval to continue working with Huawei, the current batch of MateBooks could be the last ones running Windows.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
That means Huawei will no longer be able to preinstall Windows on its laptops, leaving it with two options: switch to open-source Linux or go all-in on HarmonyOS.
But losing Google was one thing. Losing Windows? That’s a whole new challenge.
Huawei, though, isn’t waiting around to find out. Richard Yu, the head of Huawei’s consumer business, has already hinted that this was coming.
The Chinese company is already preparing to launch a new PC in April powered by its own Kunpeng CPU and running HarmonyOS, a clear sign that it’s ready to move on. It has also just released the MateBook D 16 Linux Edition, swapping out Windows for an open-source alternative.
But the real question is whether this strategy can work outside China. In its home market, Huawei still has plenty of loyal customers, and the shift away from Windows may not be a big deal. But globally? That could be a hard nut to crack.
Windows still runs on over 70% of PCs worldwide as of February 2025 according to StatCounter. Meanwhile, Linux sits at only just 3.8% and macOS around 16%. In short, most consumers and businesses rely on Microsoft’s software, and for businesses and casual users alike, Microsoft’s ecosystem is hard to replace.
Whether its upcoming HarmonyOS PCs can actually compete—or if they’ll just be another workaround in an increasingly restricted world—remains to be seen.
