Xiaomi in no hurry to launch smartphones in the U.S.
Xiaomi Vice President Hugo Barra has stated that there are no short-term plans to market to the United States as most Americans prefer subsidized plans over unlocked off-the-shelf smartphones. Xiaomi prefers to sell its devices straight to customers without subsidized plans.
According to Barra, Xiaomi must first establish the appropriate infrastructure for service and support of its devices, which will take time. U.S. customers tend to prefer phone support and comprehensive service options that would be expected from Xiaomi.
Therefore, Xiaomi will continue to have a limited presence in the U.S. with only very inexpensive products, such as wearables and accessories that do not require extensive customer support. This includes fitness bands (Mi band), headphones (Mi Headphones), and battery banks (Mi Power Banks). However, Barra has not ruled out smartphones as a possibility in the future. Nonetheless, the manufacturer has its priorities on the Indian smartphone market first before expanding to the United States.