Xiaomi’s taken its first official steps into South Korea

By Andy Boxall March 30, 2016

Xiaomi Mi5 — Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Proving it’s not afraid of Samsung or LG, Xiaomi will soon put its products on sale in South Korea, but like the approach it has taken in the U.S., its massively popular smartphones will not be among them. Yet.

Xiaomi has signed deals with local retailers Koma Trade and Youmi, making them official retail sellers of Xiaomi hardware in the country. In China, Xiaomi operates as a primarily online brand, and doesn’t have its own retail network of stores. Several online retailers will also carry Xiaomi hardware. It’s possible to buy Xiaomi products in South Korea already, but through importers rather than officially.

If it’s not selling phones, then what Xiaomi products will eager South Koreans be able to purchase? It’ll be Xiaomi’s accessory and smart products, including the Xiaomi Mi Band activity tracker, the company’s various battery packs, its headphones, and the Ninebot scooter. The news comes a few weeks after Xiaomi signed a similar agreement with two local online retailers to sell its smart TV range and smart air purifiers in South Korea.

However, while this may appear to be Xiaomi’s way of slowly increasing its brand presence in South Korea, it may not be prepared to wait long before adding its smartphones to the list of devices on sale. A patent for Xiaomi Pay — its mobile payment service, that’s also known as Mi Pay — has been filed in South Korea, and it’s not for use on anything except its phones. The timing is also interesting, as it comes just a few days after Samsung launched Samsung Pay in China.

There’s no official proof the phones will follow the accessories, or if Xiaomi’s just protecting the Mi Pay name with the patent, but this isn’t the first time it has made an effort to get its phones on sale in South Korea. At the beginning of the year, local carrier KT Telecom supplied an online retailer with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, where it was sold for a very low cost. However, this lasted for just two days, and speculation is that pressure on the telecom firm from Samsung and LG saw them removed from sale. This was denied by both companies.

Xiaomi’s trying a different approach now, but the endgame will still be the same — Xiaomi phones battling Samsung and LG hardware on home soil.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Mobile

What to expect from smartphone makers now that MWC 2020 is canceled

what to expect at mwc 2018 mobile world congress preview 1500x1000

Although a few more smartphones debuted at CES 2020 than usual, the real smartphone event of the year has traditionally been Mobile World Congress. Unfortunately, after a number of companies pulled out of this year's event due to fears about the spread of coronavirus, Mobile World Congress 2020 has been canceled.

Of course, that leaves a number of new products and innovations unannounced -- and companies that would have unveiled their latest devices at MWC are now left to plan their own events or release products a little more quietly. Following are some details about the cancellation, what we had expected to see at this year's event, and where manufacturers will now show off their latest devices.
Why was MWC 2020 canceled?
Usually, Mobile World Congress is held in late February. It takes place in the huge Fira Gran Via event space in Barcelona, Spain, and last year attracted more than 109,000 attendees. Now that it's been canceled, we'll have to wait for next year's show.

Mobile

Learn 14 languages: Get $449 off a lifetime subscription to Babbel

A person using the Babbel app on their smartphone.

Learning a new language no longer requires you to make time for formal classes because there are now several language learning apps that you can tap. One of them is Babbel, and you can currently get a lifetime subscription to the online learning platform for only $150 from StackSocial. That's $449 off its original price of $599, but we don't know how much time is remaining before the offer expires. If you want to take advantage of the 74% discount, it's highly recommended that you complete the transaction immediately.

Why you should buy the Babbel lifetime subscription
A lifetime subscription to Babbel not only unlocks the possibility of learning one or two new languages, as the platform encompasses a total of 14 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish, Dutch, Polish, Indonesia, Norwegian, Danish, and Russian. You'll be learning your new language of choice with lessons that only take 10 minutes to 15 minutes each to complete, so unlike classes with a rigid schedule, you can learn at your own pace and at any time you're free through Babbel. The lessons cover real-life topics, and they use speech recognition technology to help you master pronunciation. You'll then test yourself through personalized review sessions that will help make sure that you retain all the information that's being taught to you.

Mobile

This one Apple Fitness feature completely changed how I exercise

Someone holding an iPhone with the Apple Fitness app open, showing the Custom Plans feature.

I have a confession to make: I'm not good at sticking to a workout routine. I love running, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), strength training, etc. In the moment of those exercises and in the post-workout euphoria, I feel amazing. But when it comes to waking up early in the morning to do these things before work? Well, that's where I really struggle.

This has been a problem for a while now. I go to bed with the goal of waking up early and going to the gym, but as I groggily open my eyes to snooze the alarm on my iPhone 15 Pro Max, I end up falling back asleep. And I've been repeating this over and over and over again.