Xiaomi smartphones could make official US debut this year

Just four years ago, a Xiaomi executive was asked whether the company needed to sell phones in the US. The answer? “Frankly, we don’t.”

How things have changed. Now Xiaomi says it’s ready to sell smartphones in the US late this year or in early 2019, according to the South China Morning Post. (And that executive has since jumped ship to another company.)

Xiaomi already sells a number of products in the US -- like cameras and fitness trackers -- through its own online stores, as well as Amazon and Walmart. But selling smartphones will present a whole new set of challenges.

Huawei stumbled earlier this year when both AT&T and Verizon scrapped plans to sell its phones, forcing them to sell smartphones without a contract -- meaning that even with discounts, Huawei’s handsets cost vastly more to consumers than their competitors.