Xiaomi is taking its custom chip seriously, says it’s planning a ‘annual release’
What you need to know
- An interview with Xiaomi president Lu Weibing and CNBC revealed plans to produce its in-house chip, the XRing, every year.
- Possible improvements and features were not discussed, however, the president of Xiaomi says that he is thinking of including his chip in the global release, too.
- The XRing O1 debuted last year with a 10-core design to compete with other manufacturers, along with Arm’s v9.2 cores.
Xiaomi came up with its own custom chip last year; now reports say it is not slowing down.
In a recent interview with CNBC, the president of Xiaomi, Lu Weibing, informed the publication that the company is looking to take seriously the development of its custom chip (via 9to5Google). When Xiaomi released its first chip, the XRing O1 in 2025, Lu Weibing said that he is now looking to “release a year’s development.” The mindset surrounding its custom chip seems to have changed, as CNBC highlighted a previous statement by Xiaomi’s vice president, who said the company “couldn’t commit” to doing so.
Android Central Take
The comments reported by CNBC from Xiaomi’s vice president are interesting—especially in contrast to today’s news. Earlier reports claimed that Xiaomi was investing billions in its ambitions to strengthen its ambitions to make chips for its devices. Maybe the company has found a wiggle room and the right way to do this every year.
Now, Lu appeared confident before CNBC when he said that consumers should expect annual XRing chip upgrades in its devices. In addition, they added that the next-generation chip of 2026 will arrive in its phones at the time of its release in China, again there are plans to use it for a global launch, too.
The president of Xiaomi says in their interview that its AI, Xiao AI, will seek “international markets.” Reportedly, the Chinese OEM is planning to integrate its AI assistant into its phones during the global launch and in cars.
All in XRing
There were two major events for Xiaomi last year regarding its internal chip: the report about the “chip platform door” and the launch of the XRing O1. For the first, some reports say that Xiaomi “internally” informed its members about the creation of such a door. This was designed to facilitate and better manage the work behind its custom chip. Reports add that Xiaomi has tapped Qin Muyun, who previously served as Qualcomm’s senior director of product marketing, to take the reins.
Android Central Take
When these reports were rumored, it gave me serious Samsung and Google vibes. Remember when Google moved to make Tensor chips in-house? Or when Samsung is committed to people focusing only on improving its chips? It’s a similar move that other companies have made when they take their custom chip ideas seriously. This is a choice that can give them more control over what goes into their phones, capabilities, features, and more. We’ll have to wait and see what Xiaomi cooks up next.
Xiaomi has also invested 30 billion yuan (~$4.1 billion) by 2025 for its chip ambitions. Jump forward one month to May 2025, and we are met with the debut of the XRing O1—Xiaomi’s chip. The product is rocking Arm’s v9.2 cores and a 10-core design to try and fight for a higher place than its potential competitors.
At the time of launch, there was speculation that Xiaomi would keep its XRing chips in its main market: China. However, seeing how Xiaomi’s situation is now, it seems that it wants more people to hear what it has been working on.
