Xiaomi and Huawei set to make entry into the US market

Xiaomi and Huawei are two of the biggest smartphone brands in China, with both companies taking the top two spots in the local market. Both companies also rank among the top six smartphone manufacturers in the world, with Xiaomi, in particular, seeing a meteoric rise over the last 18 months. While these are all impressive facts, the two companies are looking to expand even further, with information from supposed inside sources claiming that both are set to start selling their smartphones in the US.

The US smartphone market is vastly different from the majority of the world's, as most smartphones are sold via local carriers, with the advantage being that users get to pay off their phones over a set, long period of time. This is as opposed to China where phones are sold in a free market, with buyers having to pay full price in one lump sum.

Huawei has already made attempts at selling its devices in the US. Devices like the Honor 8, Mate 9, and the new Honor V10 and 7X have all been sold on online retail stores like Amazon and Best Buy. The Mate 10 devices, that were launched a few months ago, are billed to go even further, with the devices expected to be sold in the US under the AT&T banner.

Xiaomi is another unlikely candidate. The company's growth is well-documented, with the recent surge up the global ladder mostly chalked up to the company's diversification into launching brick and mortar stores across the globe. The seven-year-old company launched shops in Russia and across Western Europe this year, and has finally set its sights on the US, with the information source claiming that there's currently a deal in the works with Verizon.

Xiaomi offers a unique proposal, as the company has become nigh-synonymous with high bang-for-buck devices. Its flagship devices, for example, sell for just over US$400, so it'll be interesting to see similarly priced devices by the company compete with more known offerings by brands like Samsung, especially considering the fact that the latter sells it flagships with price tags in the US$800 range, a figure that seems to climb yearly.

Specific details of the deals between the parties are unknown, so we can only wait.