Hugo Barra talks Xiaomi and plans of the U.S. market at Code Conference

Hugo Barra was once a star player on the Google Android team, but has now moved on to working at Xiaomi, the world’s most valuable startup company and 3rd largest smartphone distributor. Xiaomi makes many things from Android phones, wearables, and even TV sets. However even with all of it’s success the name is barely mentioned in the U.S. and it hasn’t officially launched any major products on North American soil.

The majority of their products are mid-range devices aimed at emerging markets. However, their quality designs and affordable prices make them quite desirable.

Unfortunately that doesn’t mean they will be coming to the U.S. any time soon. Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra has confirmed at Code Conference the company will one day sell it’s products in the U.S. but not in the foreseeable future.

One reason for this is Xiaomi likes to sell their devices outright while most devices in the U.S. are sold subsidized and on contract. Consumers can buy very expensive phones like the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge for cheaper than the outright cost of an Xiaomi phone. As you can imagine most consumers would rather get a better phone and take a large discount than pay the full price upfront.

It will be interesting to see when and how Xiaomi enters the U.S. market and the impact it has on other big name manufactures.

Source: recode

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