For a while now, Xiaomi has been looking to enter the US market, but hasn’t pulled the trigger just yet. Why? Because the company is still working on a strategy for expanding into the US market.
Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, on Tuesday said that “he’s carefully evaluating the best timeline to come to the US” with its smartphone offerings. Right now, the company is selling some other devices in the US, like the Mi Box set-top box, and is learning about how to properly approach with its smartphones.
“We hope to be an immediate success in the US so we need a lot of time and careful preparation to achieve that,” he said on Tuesday during a round table with reporters at Qualcomm’s tech summit in Hawaii. Jin has also stated that Xiaomi Mi 7 would be one of the first devices to use Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 845 processor.
For some time now, we’ve heard Xiaomi say these kinds of words. They’ve stated that the company is interested in expanding to the US but haven’t found the right time. Providers like Huawei, Xiaomi, and others have found great success in markets like China, but the market in the US is tougher due to high dominance from companies like Apple and Samsung. Apple holds 30 percent market share while Samsung holds 25 percent, respectively, according to Strategy Analytics.
While Jun touched on the possible expansion to the US, he declined to comment on a possible IPO. Instead, he said that “The smartphone industry is still Uber competitive.” He added that “Everyone is coming with all sorts of innovation. Next year Xiaomi will definitely have a few products that steal customers hearts — and also unique products.”
