Xiaomi is getting ready to sell products in new markets like the US, but don't expect phones.

Xiaomi is a Chinese company that develops and sells smartphones, mobile apps, and other consumer electronics. It has been described as the "Apple of China", and it is currently selling phones in eight Asian territories. It actually sold 61.1 million phones in 2014, a 227 per cent growth over 2013. These devices run Xiaomi’s MIUI flavor of Android.

Hugo Barra, who was head of product management at Google's Android mobile unit, joined the phone maker over a year ago as Vice President of International, and ever since then, people in the US and other markets have patiently waited and hoped that Barra will help Xiaomi to finally and fully expand to other markets.

While at an event in San Francisco on 12 February, Barra revealed Xiaomi does plan to launch its Mi.com website in the US and other international markets in order to start selling hardware accessories like its fitness band, power banks, headphones, TV streaming devices, and more.

“We intend to launch here in the US in a few months,” Barra said. “It will not include any phones or tablets,” he added, blaming the delay on "incredibly difficult" logistical challenges, including the localisation of its MIUI platform, hardware certification, software testing, and infrastructure.

It's not clear yet which other markets Xiaomi has in mind, but we've contacted the company for more details. It's also not clear when a phone launch is expected. Barra only confirmed it's not in the company's roadmap right now.