We heard rumors earlier this year that Xiaomi was working on its own smartphone with a release window of 2025.Now, another source confirms these claims.
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Bloomberg reports that Xiaomi is indeed working on a custom chip for smartphones, citing sources familiar with the matter. The sources added that mass production was expected to take place in 2025. The publication suggested that Xiaomi’s expertise in chip manufacturing would also be a boon to the company’s electric vehicle business.
This news comes almost a year after we first heard about Xiaomi's plans for a custom smartphone processor. MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai hinted at a custom Xiaomi chip in January 2024.
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Leaker Yogesh Brar posted various alleged details in August. He claimed that Xiaomi's new chip would be unveiled in the first half of 2025 and would be manufactured on 4nm (N4P) process . Brar also claimed that the chip would be comparable to 2022's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in terms of performance and would feature a 5G modem from Unisoc. There is no information about the CPU and GPU.
This wouldn't be Xiaomi's first custom smartphone processor . The company launched the lightweight Surge S1 chip in 2017, powering the Xiaomi Mi 5C . A follow-on processor was in development before the manufacturer decided to abandon custom chipsets. Since then, Xiaomi has shifted to offering less ambitious custom silicon in its phones, covering tasks like power/battery management, imaging, and more.
See also: Xiaomi launches new tablets with iPad-like design
In any case, Xiaomi's new chip comes at a good time for the company. Top-of-the-line chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek have reportedly been driving up prices, while tensions between China and the US have also led to trade bans on advanced semiconductor technology. This new custom processor may be far less capable than recent offerings from competitors, but the internal capabilities could help protect Xiaomi from further price hikes and broader trade bans against Chinese companies.
Source: androidauthority
