Anyone who is well-versed in Android knows that Xiaomi is a big player, to an enviable extent. The company sits in the third position of global smartphone manufacturers, and second when looking at Android manufacturers alone. That’s not a bad spot to be in.
With such a grip on the market, it seems that Xiaomi wants to make its devices even better, and reports say that the company is working on something that will put it in the ranks of Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and Google. By next year, Xiaomi could have its own custom chip for its smartphones.
Bloomberg Says Xiaomi’s Custom Chip Will Be In Its Smartphones By Next Year
There are many perks to making your own smartphone chips and Apple is a great way to demonstrate that—hate them or love them. For a long time, Apple’s RAM numbers have lagged behind whatever is “in” with Android devices at the respective time. The iPhone 16 Pro Max only has 8GB of RAM—inconceivable for a 2024 Android flagship. However, the synergy between the company’s chips and software hardly makes it a problem.
It’s why I was so excited to see what Google would do with Tensor, though they’ve hardly delivered to the extent that people thought they would. However, in the right hands, there’s a lot of potential in custom chips, and according to a report by Bloomberg, the company is looking towards putting its own chips into some of its 2025 smartphones. That’d put it in the ranks of Samsung’s Exynos, Huawei’s Kirin, and Google’s Tensor.
I’d hardly assume that these chips will find their way into flagship devices at the start of affairs. It takes quite some time to get chips that are battle-ready to the extent of challenging MediaTek and Qualcomm’s flagship options—Samsung and Google’s struggles are evidence of this. I’d say expect the mid-range and lower-end devices first.
China Is Pushing Its Major Business To Lower Their Reliance On Foreign Technology
The story of Huawei is a cautionary tale for all Chinese businesses, not just smartphone manufacturers. Overreliance on foreign technology can almost leave a business crippled when access to those is withdrawn in a second, and Chinese officials have been imploring major manufacturers in the country to reduce their reliance on technology from other countries. This is certainly a major step in that direction for Xiaomi.
Xiaomi’s Push To Custom Chips Might Also Be Influenced By Its Electric Vehicle Business
This move is bound to benefit Xiaomi in ways beyond just its smartphone business. The company has a notable grip on all sorts of home electronics, but even knowing that, its choice to jump into the EV business was still very bold. However, its first car, the Xiaomi SU7, seems to have been received very well.
Xiaomi will need chips for the brains of its EVs, especially if it plans a very long and fruitful stay in that industry, and in-house chips will certainly give it a big foot up. Getting to cutting-edge SoCs is a long road, but I think if any company can do it, Xiaomi is one of them.
