Xiaomi launches new advanced in-house mobile chip
By Luna LIN
Tech giant Xiaomi unveiled a new advanced in-house mobile chip on Thursday, a significant milestone for the company as Chinese firms shift resources towards home-grown technology against a bleak international trade backdrop.
Xiaomi, which sells goods from smartphones to vacuum cleaners and electric vehicles (EVs), is one of China's most prominent consumer electronics firms.
With the XRING O1, it becomes only the second smartphone brand globally after Apple to mass produce its own 3-nanometre chips, among the most advanced on the market.
This despite being a latecomer to the chip industry, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said at a launch event on Thursday, joking that the feat had been "harder than ascending to heaven".
Xiaomi took early steps into semiconductors for smartphones with the launch of the firm's first in-house chip, the Surge S1, in 2017.
But the group was forced to halt production of the chip due to technical and financial obstacles.
Lei said the journey to developing the XRING O1 had taken over a decade.
"How much hardship, how much sweat, how much untold pain have been involved in these 11 years? How much courage and determination did it take to make this decision?" he said.
The XRING O1 will first be deployed in Xiaomi's new 15S Pro flagship smartphone and the Pad 7 Ultra tablet, which were also launched Thursday along with a preview of the firm's first electric SUV.
A number of Chinese firms are racing to develop their own chips with the aim of freeing themselves from reliance on foreign suppliers.
Xiaomi is only the fourth smartphone brand globally to have developed its own system-on-chip, with Huawei the only domestic competitor.
"This represents yet one more step toward China reaching self-sufficiency in this crucial industry –- as well as in broader ICT and electronics supply chains," Stephen Ezell from US-based think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) told AFP.
Over the past few years, Washington has sharply tightened export controls on advanced chip technology to China, citing national security concerns.
Chinese chip foundries are restricted from accessing foreign equipment needed for cutting-edge chip production -- meaning that firms have to rely on overseas foundries for 5nm-process and below.
Xiaomi has not confirmed which company is manufacturing the XRING O1, though Lei said it uses the same second generation 3nm-process technology as Apple's latest chips.
Apple contracts Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC for its fabrication.
The chip is a "significant" achievement for Xiaomi, and allows it to reduce "its reliance on external designers" such MediaTek and Qualcomm, Washington-based semiconductor and technology analyst Ray Wang told AFP.
"Longer term, owning its SoC (system-on-chip) roadmap will insulate Xiaomi's devices from the U.S.–China geopolitical tensions and help mitigate global supply-chain disruptions," he said.
© 2025 AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Japan Today
Japan venture seeks to export 'espresso' of hot springs
Onsens -- bath houses where patrons relax naked together in water of various temperatures -- are a major domestic industry beloved by both locals and tourists By Tomohiro OSAKI Japan's famous onsen hot springs were long considered unexportable, until an idea struck Naoki Mita one day: What if he could condense them like espresso coffee? Mita's Tokyo-based venture firm, Le Furo, has invented a technology it calls "craft onsen" -- whereby hot spring ingredients are extracted and filtered into an ultra-high concentration. Le Furo now seeks to use that patented technology to export Japan's hot springs overseas, with a view toward opening several onsen facilities in the Gulf region in 2026. Transporting hot springs overseas long seemed logistically impossible because of the sheer volume of water involved, as well as their susceptibility to germs. But with Le Furo's invention, "just like you extract coffee as espresso, we grind the mineral resources to fine, sand-like powders," CEO Naoki Mita told AFP. The entrepreneur says many commercially available "onsen powders" are synthetic and put an emphasis on mimicking the relaxing color and scent, and don't necessarily contain the necessary ingredients. Only after solid metals such as iron, magnesium and zinc dissolve into water does it become possible to chemically resemble onsen and recreate the therapeutic effect, Mita said. Le Furo's technology sticks to the natural soil and minerals of hot spring sources, and uses a special method to make them soluble in water. Its "Craft Onsen" concentrate comes in bottles or small tanks, which can then be distributed and poured into water in other countries to feel like the real thing. Onsens -- bath houses where patrons relax naked together in hot spring water of various temperatures -- are a major domestic industry in Japan beloved by both locals and tourists. As of 2021, Japan was home to 28,000 confirmed hot spring sources, according to the environment ministry. Le Furo is setting its sights particularly on countries like the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia where "water is considered a more precious resource than oil", Mita says. "Here in Japan, we have this culture of soaking ourselves in a good, long bath to attain better health -- that's the kind of story that I believe (other countries) will show great interest in," Mita said. © 2025 AFP
Nikkei Asia
4 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
US-China trade truce fuels bets on mainland's high-tech supply chain
SHANGHAI -- Investors are ramping up bets on Chinese makers of precision parts, optical transceivers and circuit boards for American companies as a trade truce with the U.S. has stimulated locals' willingness to buy into the mainland's high-tech supply chain.
Japan Today
4 hours ago
- Japan Today
Apple Watch gets revamped blood oxygen feature
Apple Watch health features including detection of irregular heartbeats and falls have been highlighted by the Silicon Valley tech titan Apple says some of its top smartwatch models are getting a redesigned blood oxygen sensing feature, sidelined for several years by a patent dispute. Software updates will add the capability to an array of Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 Apple Watch models, according to the iPhone maker. "This update was enabled by a recent U.S. Customs ruling," Apple said in a blog post. Apple temporarily halted U.S. sales of its latest smartwatch models last January as part of a patent feud with health company Masimo. Masimo, based in southern California, filed a complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) which decided to halt imports of the Apple Watch models over a patented technology for detecting blood-oxygen levels. Apple manufactures the vast majority of its products overseas, giving the ITC jurisdiction over the patent feud. According to reports, Apple removed the technology from the smartwatches in question at the time and resumed selling them. Masimo argued that it invented the technology and that Apple poached key employees to win access to the know-how. But Apple contended that the ITC finding was in error and appealed the decision in U.S. federal court. Apple strongly promotes its smartwatch's fitness and health features, which include detection of heartbeat irregularities, falls, sleep apnea, and harmful noise levels. © 2025 AFP
