Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has announced its own advanced SoC “Xring O1” and is accelerating its move to strengthen its preparations for in-house semiconductor production and US sanctions.
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🟦 Xiaomi announces original 3nm smartphone chip “Xring O1” — Breaking away from Qualcomm dependence
Xiaomi has officially announced its new self-developed smartphone processor “Xring O1”. The chip is manufactured using a 3nm-class micro process (actually TSMC’s 4nm N4P), which is on par with Apple’s iPhone, and integrates the main functions of the smartphone into one SoC.
The Xring O1 uses Arm’s 1+3+4 configuration architecture, and the GPU is made by Imagination Technologies. In terms of graphics performance, it is also reported that it may surpass the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s Adreno 740.
It will be installed in smartphones in the mid-range price range (about 3,000 to 3,500 yuan), and is expected to be shipped in the initial shipment of 2 million to 3 million units to the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets.
🟦 Strategic significance in terms of both technological independence and geopolitical risk
Behind this move is the tightening of technical sanctions against China by the United States. There is also the example of Huawei, which was hit by similar sanctions, and Xiaomi had a sense of crisis from an early stage, and after the failure of its own chip “Surge S1” in 2017, it started a full-scale restart with a 10-year plan from 2021.
This success is the result of its long-term strategy. The company invested about 270 billion yen (13.5 billion yuan) in development and has a development team of more than 2,500 people. At the helm is former Qualcomm executive Qin Qiyun.
The company has a track record of success in imaging chips (Surge C1), charging chips (P1), and battery management chips (G1), and has entered the most important component of the SoC.
🟦 Summary
Xiaomi’s Xring O1 is a state-of-the-art SoC developed in-house, symbolizing the company’s semiconductor independence and preparedness for the risk of sanctions against the United States.
Since smartphone SoCs account for a large part of the manufacturing cost, it seems natural for Xiaomi to aim for in-house production.
