Chinese OEM star Xiaomi is indeed making its way to the US, but before you get your hopes up, we will let VP for International Business Hugo Barra dash them. In a press event at San Francisco, the former Google exec revealed some details about his new overlords’ plans to conquer the country. And he made it pretty damn clear: smartphones and tablets are currently not in Xiaomi’s US plans. Which perhaps leaves things of lesser interest in the Chinese OEM’s product catalog.
Xiaomi’s products are a big hit in China, but the most high profile among those are, of course, its smartphones, which sell like pancakes come launch day. There is just no escape from the allure of flagship level specs and cheap price tags. Nevermind, or especially, if they look like some other manufacturer’s smartphone. That same scene has been replicated, perhaps to a lesser degeree, in other Asian countries where Xiaomi has started to establish a base. Sadly, we won’t get to see that phenomenon in the US just yet.
It’s not without reason that Xiaomi isn’t yet bringing its bestsellers to the US. For one, there is a lack of certification, which is of course a legal requirement for any device that needs to be sold here. Second, Xiaomi sells more than just smartphones. It sells an ecosystem, particularly cloud services and apps. Those pieces, especially the infrastructure, are not yet in place, causing the delay in Xiaomi’s expansion.
That said, the company does have a ton of other products it might be able to sell in the US. It’s power banks might be of most interest as well as its own Mi Band smart wearable. There are also other accessories like the new Mi earphones. They haven’t revealed a full list of products for the US yet. Oh, and Xiaomi does have stuffed toys of its mascot too, which probably won’t require certification to sell in the US.
VIA: SlashGear
