Xiaomi, well known for its smartphones, is now planning to develop its own mobile processors. The company is looking to reduce its reliance on chipmakers such as Qualcomm and MediaTek for its mobile processor needs. If successful, Xiaomi would join Apple and Samsung, which are the only two companies that use in-house silicon chips for their products.
Xiaomi is working on a custom 3nm chip that will launch in early 2025 with performance comparable to Qualcomm"s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 flagship processor. With its own chips, Xiaomi can tailor them specifically to meet the needs of its devices, which could help improve performance and efficiency.
It won"t be easy for Xiaomi, though; as you might have figured out, making your own chips isn"t easy. Developing mobile chips is a complex and costly affair. Samsung has been doing it with the Exynos line for more than a decade now. However, there have still been complaints about performance issues on Exynos variants when compared to Snapdragon variants of the same smartphone models.
Despite the risks, Xiaomi has partnered with ARM to help design its custom chips. The design phase for its first 3nm chip is recently finished, while mass production is expected in 2025. The company plans to work with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to manufacture these 3nm chips, thanks to its advanced fabrication processes.
It"s worth noting that Xiaomi still faces external pressures from the U.S. as restrictions are still in place for Chinese companies to access advanced chip technologies. The Biden administration had curbed China"s ability to acquire cutting-edge semiconductor technology. With the Trump administration starting soon, new rules have been proposed that would further restrict Chinese firms from obtaining chips, which is also the reason why China has started stockpiling a lot of these higher-end chips.
Via Bloomberg (paywall)