Smartphone startup Xiaomi has already become a big seller in Asia and Brazil but plans to enter the United States market despite other Chinese phone makers struggling to compete in the home of Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. The world's second-most valuable startup stated on February 24, Wednesday it hopes to launch its mobile phones in the US by the end of 2017.   

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Hugo Barra is a former Google employee and Xiaomi's global vice president. He shared in an interview the company is excited to enter western markets, according to CNET.   

Xiaomi has global expansion plans and has already achieved strong customer loyalty by offering high-end phones on its official website.

The Beijing-based company could offer US customers other choices besides Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy handsets. In addition, other Chinese companies have had problems earning a big market share in the US.

Xiaomi has already expanded its market from mainland China to Southeast Asia, India, and even home of the 2016 Summer Olympics: Brazil.

The company has not rolled out its devices in a Western market. That is why it was a big surprise it launched its newest flagship phone on Wednesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It will not launch in Europe.

Xiaomi Mi 5 is an Android phone with a ceramic rear, according to BBC. It has a $415 price tag, and will first roll out in China and then India.  

Barra shared that the best western market the company could enter first would be the US. He explained it is the hardest one though. There are many frequencies and the carrier requirements such as for LTE are difficult, but entering the market would be a big success in terms of engineering.

US customers usually buy their phones through wireless carriers. That differs from China where millions of shoppers purchase their Xiaomi smartphones through the company's official site.

However, US carriers have a lot of control about which phones are up for sale and require them to go through a series of quality control tests. Huawei and other Chinese companies have thus started to use direct sales by offering their top phones through their own website or online retailers.

Here's a first look for Mi 5: