Update: HP reached out to us to clarify exactly what happened with these models. The language used in the email was “cancelled” and that is in respect to customer orders, not the models themselves. HP provided us with this statement:
As previously stated, we expect industry-wide supply constraints to continue in the short term. We are working hard across our global supply chain to meet the increased needs of our customers during this time. That said, there have been no discontinuations of the SKUs reported.
So, it’s not that these laptops with AMD APUs are gone forever, just that they’ll be gone for so long that HP has decided it needs to cancel and refund orders. It might as well be a discontinuation but HP says these conditions will persist in the short term, not the long term (hopefully). In any case, HP can’t sell these laptops right now.
Original article:
It seems that HP’s run with AMD has hit a snag, because apparently over a dozen AMD based laptops (specifically 14) have been canceled/discontinued. This is according to an anonymous customer who tried to order such a laptop but was greeted by this email after a 5 week long delay:
Your HP customized order [redacted] contains an AMD processor that has been impacted by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, this means we are not able to complete the build of your computer.
Then was included the following list of impacted models:
| Cancelled Model | APU |
| X360 435 G7 | R5 Pro 4650U |
| X360 435 G7 | R7 Pro 4750U |
| X360 435 G7 | R3 4300U |
| X360 435 G7 | R5 4500U |
| 445 G7 | R5 Pro 4650U |
| 445 G7 | R7 Pro 4750U |
| 445 G7 | R3 4300U |
| 445 G7 | R5 4500U |
| 445 G7 | R7 4700U |
| 445 G7 | R5 Pro 4650U |
| 445 G7 | R7 Pro 4750U |
| 445 G7 | R3 4300U |
| 445 G7 | R5 4500U |
| 445 G7 | R7 4700U |
HP recommended an Intel based alternative for almost every single laptop except one. Notably, the Envy x360 and HP Omen are missing from this list, meaning they are most likely not cancelled (yet at least). These models are all fairly low end or mid range.
Judging by the language in the email, this issue seems to be supply related. WCCFTech recently reported on the state of AMD’s supply chain, and how AMD was not capacity constrained but still had higher demand than supply because AMD and ODMs were intentionally conservative in ordering APUs. It finally seems like demand has totally overwhelmed AMD’s supply and HP has been forced to shrink its line of AMD based laptops in order to cope with the issue. Many will inevitably suspect foul play on the part of Intel, but one needs to consider that HP already designed these laptops and shipped many out, making some kind of secret deal between HP and Intel fairly unlikely. I would not read into this as anything more than a supply issue.
It’s been fairly hard to get Ryzen 4000 based laptops ever since they debuted in March; for example, the Asus Zephyrus G14 went out of stock almost immediately and initially the only model available was one of the most expensive configurations. While AMD would like to order more chips, delivering them to consumers still depends on enthusiasm for these chips from AMD’s partners; ordering too many also runs the risk of losing money due to higher supply than demand. For AMD, it’s worth not pursuing market share as aggressively as possible since a more laid back approach ends up being more profitable.
