Xiaomi has joined the likes Apple and Samsung in the ranks of tech companies that make their own processors. During an event in Beijing last week, the Chinese firm unveiled its new XRing 01 mobile processor, an advanced chipset that will debut in a couple of Xiaomi’s higher-end devices.
The news of the processor’s announcement leaked a few days before the official announcement. Even so, Xiaomi still managed to impress. It might match Samsung, Apple, and others for in-house capability, but it’s the only company besides Apple making 3nm processors internally.
Grasping the brass XRing 01
Exactly how the XRing 01 chipset will alter how Xiaomi’s devices function isn’t known, but the company, via founder Lei Jun, confirmed that it uses the same second-generation node process Apple uses to create its 3nm Apple Silicon chipsets. That’s the M3 chipset, in case you were wondering.
The XRing 01 will first appear in the Xiaomi 15s Pro smartphone and the Pad 7 Ultra tablet. These are China-only devices for the moment, but reviews for each should appear online shortly for the 15s Pro, which launched on 22 May. Everything we’ve encountered so far isn’t exactly tailored to the Western market.
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Samsung also has 3nm capability, as does MediaTek. All current 3nm production is via TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), with Samsung being the sole exception. Qualcomm is thought to source some of its 3nm production from Samsung’s facilities, but everyone else uses TSMC. That is expected to be the case with Xiaomi’s XRing 01, even if the company has yet to confirm as much.
The XRing 01 isn’t bad going for the company, following its venture into smart motor vehicles, and especially after a previous (and ill-fated) in-house chipset launch in 2017 failed to grab much attention. Copying Apple’s homework a little, though? That could be a recipe for success.
