Xiaomi to take tentative first step into US, but not by selling phones

Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra revealed today that the Chinese gadget maker will soon enter the US market for the first time, albeit in a very tentative and low-key way.

Speaking at Xiaomi’s ‘meet the media’ event in San Francisco, Barra ruled out launching Xiaomi smartphones or tablets in the US in 2015, but indicated that its Mi.com site will soon open up to American consumers with some of its accessories, reports The Verge. That means things like the Mi Band fitness tracker, Power Bank battery packs, and earphones.

Xiaomi sells a handful of its range of phones, tablets, and accessories in seven nations/areas in Asia, but the full product selection is available only in mainland China. Xiaomi’s Mi4 phone, which launched last summer in China, has so far landed in only one other market, debuting in India in January.

Barra indicated that issues like hardware certification, software testing, and logistical concerns mean that Xiaomi is not yet planning on bringing any smartphones or tablets to the US market.

Xiaomi co-founder Lin Bin was also at the San Francisco event. Neither he nor Barra addressed reporters’ questions on whether the decision was caused by patenting problems. A TechCrunch writer on the scene says that the same question was asked multiple times. Xiaomi’s weak patent portfolio has been under scrutiny for months after a dispute in India caused a temporary sales ban.

See: Why Chinese smartphone makers aren’t eager to sell their phones in the West