Hugo Barra, Vice President of International for Xiaomi, recently announced that the company would launch mi.com in the US “in a few months.” The website is one of the few ways that the company sells its successful line of handsets, tablets, and other electronic products. But the company specifically noted that while the website will launch in the US, it will not have its smartphones available for sale on the site.

Part of the reason for this seems to be that the US market is dominated by carrier subsidized handsets typically accompanied by a 1- or 2-year contract term. In many global markets, especially the ones that Xiaomi has already expanded into, users pay full price for the handset and then separately choose their carrier(s). In the US, a phone that may cost US$250 or more in other markets will often be subsidized down to a much lower price (or even given away) by a carrier as a carrot to get them to sign up for a long-term contract. As a result, Xiaomi is hesitant to compete in a market with carrier gatekeepers – as Bin Lin, the president and co-founder of Xiaomi said, “We have never done a deal with a carrier.”

In addition, there is always the worry of lawsuits. Xiaomi’s smartphones have always been compared to Apple’s products, to the degree that some observers like tech site ArsTechnica called the Mi4 “A big iPhone that runs Android”. There is significant concern that should the company attempt to release its smartphones in the US, Apple may launch a barrage of lawsuits at them, potentially blocking sales and becoming financially costly very quickly.

So instead of selling smartphones, what will be found on the US version of mi.com? According to Barra, “Things like headphones, the Mi Band [wearable], and other simpler products that have few, if any, certification requirements." This is expected to include Xiaomi’s very successful line of low-priced battery packs. In addition, the company could sell its line of television Wi-Fi routers, and set-top boxes as well.