Xiaomi is once again making headlines—this time for accelerating its bid to design its mobile processors. The aim? More control, more innovation, and less reliance on chipmakers such as Qualcomm and MediaTek. Although not its first try at custom silicon, the size and scope of the plan as it stands now indicate that the company is playing a much longer and more earnest game.
Xiaomi has based its phones on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors for years, frequently being among the first to launch handsets based on the newest generation. However, Bloomberg reports that Xiaomi is gearing up to mass-manufacture its internal chips, with the first available as early as next month. This is a huge strategic turnnot only as far as hardware, but as a matter of how Xiaomi situates itself in the international tech ecosystem.
A Second Try, Underpinned by Experience
This is not the first chip development effort from Xiaomi. In 2017, Xiaomi launched the Surge S1, a small processor that took over in the Mi 5c. It was not a commercial success, and the project was ultimately discontinued. But the venture set the stage for something larger. Now, Xiaomi has brought aboard a team of over 1,000 engineers, headed by Qin Muyun, a former senior director at Qualcomm, to get its newest chip efforts started.
What sets this project apart is not just the scale but the independence. Reports suggest that the team is operating with a high level of autonomy, likely in response to ongoing U.S.-China tech tensions. That independence could help Xiaomi navigate potential regulatory challenges more smoothly.
A Glimpse at “Xring”: Xiaomi’s In-House Processor
Internally, Xiaomi’s upcoming chip is codenamed “Xring.” A working prototype reportedly appeared earlier this year, and according to Wccftech, the chip may be built using TSMC’s advanced 4nm or even 3nm process. That’s a cutting-edge level of manufacturing typically reserved for the most powerful chips in the market.
Beijing officials recently reported a successful tape-out of the chip, a major milestone that indicates that the design is complete and can be manufactured. Tang Jianguo, the Chief Economist at the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, emphasized this development as a milestone achievement for Xiaomi and the overall Chinese technology industry.
Though information regarding the chip’s architecture is yet to be unveiled, speculations indicate it could aim performance levels close to that of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It’s probably that Xiaomi, though, would begin by utilizing ordinary ARM cores instead of a completely custom CPU and GPU setup, which would be a more involved and resource-greedy project.
Strategic Goals: Control, Resilience, and Ecosystem Growth
Why is Xiaomi going all out on chip development at this time? A combination of necessity and opportunity.
The global technology sector is more fractured than ever before, and the ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly between China and the U.S., have ensured that supply chain resilience is a top concern for Chinese companies. Xiaomi seems keen to avoid the failures of the likes of Huawei, whose international aspirations were restricted by export controls and sanctions.
By designing its chips, Xiaomi aims to have more direct control of its ecosystem, cut costs in the long term, and shield itself from outside disruption. This step can also underpin the company’s wider ambitions in domains such as electric vehicles and AI, where custom silicon can be a game-changer.
As Bloomberg reported, this is part of Xiaomi’s wider strategy to build greater “independence in terms of technology” and establish a more vertically integrated product lineup.
The Road Ahead: Promise and Challenges
While there are certainly ambitions at Xiaomi, the journey to becoming a top chipmaker is anything but straightforward. In itself, the design of a high-performance processor is a technical hurdle; manufacturing it in quantities with the world watching is another level of difficulty. There are questions still remaining about how and where Xiaomi will produce these chips in volume, particularly if geopolitics restricts access to the most advanced manufacturing facilities.
If it works, Xiaomi will open the door for other Chinese technology players to do the same, hastening the march toward semiconductor self-reliance. For now, however, the world is keeping a close eye to see if Xiaomi can convert its prototype into reality—and produce a chip that can hold its own on the global stage.
One thing for certain: Xiaomi is no longer satisfied with being merely a speed-touring hardware company. With the Xring chip, it’s making it clear that it’s interested in also being a serious silicon player.
