As previously announced, Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi will initially only be selling accessories on the Mi.com portal in the US and Europe, and will not be selling its smartphones, tablets, televisions and other products in the countries, where phones are usually highly-subsidised by telecom operators. The only exception to this is the Mi Band, which could be classified as a standalone fitness tracker rather than an accessory.
Making the announcement on its official Facebook page, Xiaomi said the Mi.com portal in the US, UK, France, and Germany will be inaugurated with the first 'beta test sale' of its 10400mAh and 5000mAh Mi Power Banks, Mi Headphones, and Mi Band, which will kick off at 7pm PDT on Monday (7:30am Tuesday, IST), and 1pm CEST on Tuesday (4:30pm IST). Products will ship in seven working days.
The company so far has only provided US pricing of the products that it will be selling, with the 10400mAh power bank priced at $13.99 (roughly Rs. 900), the 5000mAh power bank at $9.99 (roughly Rs. 600), the Mi Headphones at $79.99 (roughly Rs. 5,100), and the Mi Band at $14.99 (roughly Rs. 950). The products will be available in limited quantities, and customers are recommended to make an Xiaomi account ahead of time.
The launch of the Mi.com portal in the US, UK, France, and Germany, Xiaomi is taking its first steps towards retail in these countries, it first outside Asia. The country is also due to start selling smartphones in Brazil, with company VP Global Hugo Barra recently saying it was just a matter of weeks to launch, starting with the Mi 4i.
The company in March began selling accessories in India via its Mi.com portal, and following the end of Flipkart exclusivity for its products in the country in April, also inaugurated sales of smartphones on the portal with its Mi 4i handset last month.Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.