China's Xiaomi defends itself from Apple copycat claims

"Our designers, our engineers, are inspired by great products and by great design out there. And frankly who in today's world isn't" Xiaomi vice president Hugo Barra said on Tuesday.

Barra made the comment while speaking at The Wall Street Journal's technology conference, where he added, "Point me to a product in our industry, a new product that came out that had completely unique design language. You're not going to be able to find one."

Xiaomi, which began selling AndroidAndroid smartphones in China three years ago, has quickly risen to become one of the country's top handset makers, and is already embarking on a global expansion. Alles zu Android auf CIO.de

But the company has continually faced criticism that it steals ideas from AppleApple, with some in the media dubbing it the "Apple of China." Xiaomi's newest handset, for example, has a similar exterior design to Apple's previous iPhones. Alles zu Apple auf CIO.de

Earlier this month, Apple's design head Jonathan Ive was asked his thoughts on Xiaomi, and how the company's products are similar to Apple. "I don't see it as flattery, I'm just talking about this issue in general. I actually see it as theft," he said.