Xiaomi enters US market with online accessories sale, but smartphones nowhere in sight
China's largest smartphone maker has made its first foray into the world's second largest market for smart devices with the launch of an online store targeted at Western consumers.
However, customers in the US will have to continue to wait to get their hands on Xiaomi's smartphones, as the store currently only stocks accessories and fitness devices.
Devices on offer include power banks, headphones, and the Mi Band fitness tracker. As of writing, all are marked as sold out after a flash sale on Monday afternoon US time. Another sale will take place for European customers later today.
At the time, Xiaomi global vice president Hugo Barra cited hardware certification, software testing, and other logistical challenges as reasons why the company was not bringing its smartphones – which have found huge success in China, overtaking both Apple and Samsung – to the US market.
However, experts have pointed to another major hurdle for the Chinese smartphone maker: intellectual property. Xiaomi has been dogged by accusations that it copies its rivals designs and technologies, and may be seeking to avoid expensive patent battles with its US rivals.
This week, a US federal appeals court upheld a jury's finding that Samsung had illegally copied patented features of Apple's iPhone, in a ruling that may cost the South Korean smartphone giant as much as US$930 million in damages.
