Another big brand could soon reveal its own custom smartphone chip

TL;DR

• A prominent outlet has corroborated claims that Xiaomi is working on a custom smartphone processor.
• The outlet noted that mass production was expected to take place in 2025.
• The news comes a few months after a major leak about this custom chipset.

We heard whispers earlier this year that Xiaomi was working on its own smartphone processor with a 2025 release window. Now, another source has corroborated these claims.

Bloomberg reports that Xiaomi is indeed working on a custom smartphone chipset, citing sources familiar with the matter. The outlet’s sources added that mass production was expected to take place in 2025. The publication suggested that Xiaomi’s chipmaking expertise would also be a boon for the firm’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 chipset back in January 2024.

What would this Xiaomi processor look like?

Leaker Yogesh Brar published a variety of purported details back in August. The tipster claimed that the new Xiaomi chipset would be revealed in the first half of 2025 and would be built on TSMC’s 4nm (N4P) process. Brar also asserted that the chip would be comparable to 2022’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in terms of performance and have a 5G modem by Unisoc. There’s no word on the CPU and GPU, but it stands to reason that the company will use off-the-shelf Arm parts.

This wouldn’t be Xiaomi’s first custom smartphone processor. The company launched the lightweight Surge S1 chipset in 2017, powering the Xiaomi Mi 5C. A follow-up processor was in development before the manufacturer decided to ditch custom chipsets. Xiaomi has since switched to offering less ambitious custom silicon in its phones, covering tasks like power/battery management, imaging, and more.

In any event, Xiaomi’s new processor comes at an opportune time for the brand. Flagship Qualcomm and MediaTek chips have reportedly seen a price hike, while tensions between China and the US have also resulted in trade bans for advanced semiconductor tech. This new custom processor might be far less capable than recent offerings from rivals, but in-house capabilities could still help protect Xiaomi against more price increases and wider trade bans against Chinese firms.

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