The smartphone industry witnessed a significant milestone today as Xiaomi, celebrating its 15th anniversary, officially entered the elite club of companies capable of designing advanced 3nm chips. This achievement positions the Chinese tech giant as the fourth company globally with this capability, following only Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek.
A Four-Year Journey Culminates in Breakthrough
After four years of intensive research and development, Xiaomi has officially unveiled its first self-designed 3nm flagship processor, the Xuan Jie O1 (玄戒O1). During today's launch event, Xiaomi's founder and CEO Lei Jun revealed that this project, codenamed Xuan Jie, has consumed over CNY 13.5 billion (approximately USD 1.9 billion) in R&D investment since its inception in 2021. The company maintained complete secrecy about the project until the chip was ready for mass production, surprising many industry observers with the announcement.
Technical Specifications and Performance
The Xuan Jie O1 is manufactured using second-generation 3nm process technology and contains an impressive 19 billion transistors, matching the scale of Apple's latest processors. According to Lei Jun, the chip features dual super-large cores designed to handle everyday usage scenarios efficiently. In laboratory benchmark tests, the chip has achieved performance scores exceeding 3 million points, placing it firmly in the first tier of mobile processors. Lei Jun specifically highlighted the GPU's energy efficiency, claiming it consumes 35% less power than Apple's comparable solution while delivering competitive performance.
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| The Snapdragon 8s processor exemplifies cutting-edge chip technology in the smartphone industry, akin to Xiaomi's newly unveiled Xuan Jie O1 processor |
Xiaomi's Long Road to Chip Independence
This isn't Xiaomi's first venture into chip design. Lei Jun recounted that Xiaomi's chip journey began in September 2014, leading to the release of its first mobile processor, the Surge S1, in 2017. However, the company subsequently paused its SoC development due to various challenges. While maintaining development of smaller specialized chips for functions like fast charging and image processing, Xiaomi quietly restarted its flagship chip program in early 2021, coinciding with its decision to enter the electric vehicle market.
Strategic Importance and Industry Position
The development of in-house chips represents a critical strategic move for Xiaomi. Lei Jun emphasized that having proprietary chip technology gives the company greater control over product development and user experience optimization. This capability is particularly crucial for Xiaomi's high-end market ambitions, as it allows the company to better integrate hardware and software while differentiating its products from competitors. Xiaomi has now joined Apple, Samsung, and Huawei as smartphone manufacturers with their own core processor designs.
Deployment Plans and Partnerships
The Xiaomi 15S Pro will be the first device to feature the new Xuan Jie O1 processor, with the Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra tablet also slated to receive the chip. Despite this significant step toward technological independence, Xiaomi isn't abandoning its partnerships with established chip suppliers. On May 20, just two days before this announcement, Xiaomi and Qualcomm signed a 15-year strategic cooperation agreement, ensuring that Xiaomi's flagship phones will continue to utilize Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 series platforms alongside their own solutions.
Future Investment and Ambitions
Looking ahead, Lei Jun announced ambitious plans for continued technological development. Having already invested CNY 102 billion (approximately USD 14.2 billion) in core technology R&D over the past five years, Xiaomi now plans to double down with a CNY 200 billion (approximately USD 27.8 billion) investment over the next five years. The company has assembled a chip design team exceeding 2,500 people, with expected R&D expenditure for chip development alone surpassing CNY 6 billion (approximately USD 835 million) this year.
Industry Context and Significance
Xiaomi's achievement fills a significant gap in mainland China's advanced chip design capabilities, especially in the context of increasing technological competition and export controls affecting the semiconductor industry. The company becomes mainland China's first and the world's fourth enterprise capable of independently designing 3nm flagship system-on-chip processors. This development comes at a time when NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang recently stated that his company would not release additional Hopper series products for the Chinese market following the H20 chip, highlighting the growing importance of domestic semiconductor capabilities.
Beyond Smartphones: Expanding Chip Portfolio
Beyond the flagship Xuan Jie O1, Xiaomi also unveiled the Xuan Jie T1, its first long-battery-life 4G smartwatch chip, demonstrating the company's intention to develop a comprehensive chip portfolio across its product ecosystem. Lei Jun indicated that the Xuan Jie series would include multiple chips, suggesting a long-term commitment to this technological direction despite the enormous challenges and investments required.