Xiaomi said in 2015 that it'd probably be "a few years" before it brought its smartphones to the U.S. It's now been a few years since the company said that, and it sounds like Xiaomi may finally be getting ready to bring its phones stateside.
Xiaomi plans to enter the U.S. smartphone market by the end of 2018 or early 2019, says Chairman Lei Jun. The exec added that he knows that expanding internationally isn't easy because companies need to gain an understanding of local laws and regulations as well as the needs of the consumers there.
By selling premium Android smartphones at aggressive prices, Xiaomi has become a major player in markets like China and India in recent years. The company's phones typically have nice design and, while they're not always super high-end, offer respectable features for very attractive prices.
Many people have been clamoring for Xiaomi to bring its smartphones to the U.S. for years now, but if Xiaomi wants to see any real success here, it'll need to work with carriers to get its devices in their stores. That's something that recently tripped up Huawei, as rumors say that the U.S. government pressured AT&T and Verizon to back away from selling Huawei's flagship phone, but we'll have to wait and see if Xiaomi would face similar issues when trying to enter the U.S. market.
