Things have been rough going on the home front for Xiaomi of late. According to numbers posted by IDC last week, the Chinese smartphone maker’s marketshare has slipped considerably on its own turf, tumbling to number four as fellow countryman Huawei took top honors.
Even so, the company is still looking toward international expansion, including, notably, a push into the US market controlled by the likes of Apple and Samsung — a market that’s proven particularly tough for new entrants.
In an interview with Bloomberg, VP Hugo Barra reasserted the company’s interest in the States, while admitting that it will be a tough mountain to climb. Barra noted that the market is “very important,” but tackling it will require prefect timing at the company continues to focus resources toward India, Indonesia and, of course, China.
Barra explained that the company will be approaching the market, “slowly” as the industry anticipates a launch in “the near future.” The exec was light on the specifics, but did add that Xiaomi will be launching a few products stateside, including one previously announced product set to launch in October.
Whether or not that product will be a smartphone is equally vague, as the company’s portfolio extends well beyond mobile with products like the Mi Box and the Mi Notebook Air laptop.