Xiaomi to Launch XRING O1 SoC in May with 4nm Process

On the evening of May 15, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun announced via Weibo that Xiaomi's independently developed smartphone SoC chip, named XRING O1, is scheduled for official release in late May 2025.

Xiaomi's journey into self-designed smartphone chips began in February 2017 with the launch of its first in-house chip, the Surge S1, debuted in the Xiaomi 5C smartphone. This milestone positioned Xiaomi as the world's fourth smartphone brand—after Apple, Samsung, and Huawei—to design its own mobile processor.

Despite this breakthrough, the Surge S1 faced limitations due to weak modem capabilities, lacking support for certain 3G and 4G network standards, which hindered its commercial success. Subsequent efforts on the Surge S2 reportedly encountered multiple production setbacks, leading Xiaomi to temporarily halt its smartphone SoC development. Instead, Xiaomi shifted focus to designing peripheral mobile chips such as ISP chips (Surge C series) and power management chips (Surge P series).

The company reignited its SoC ambitions in 2021 by establishing Shanghai Xuanjie Technology Co., Ltd., a dedicated chip design subsidiary led by Xiaomi's Senior Vice President Adam Zeng, who previously served as CEO of domestic chipmaker UNISOC. Xuanjie Technology's business scope includes semiconductor technology services, integrated circuit design, and chip product development.

The XRING O1, developed by this subsidiary, marks a clear departure from the previous Surge series, symbolizing Xiaomi's fresh approach and branding in mobile chipset development.

Although detailed specifications remain undisclosed, recent leaks reveal that the XRING O1 is built on an advanced 4nm process technology and features a sophisticated 1+3+4 core architecture: one prime core running at 3.2 GHz, three performance cores at 2.5 GHz, and four efficiency cores at 2.0 GHz. Its performance is said to rival the Apple A16 chip. This launch represents a significant breakthrough for mainland China in achieving sub-5nm process node design in smartphone system-level chips, an area previously dominated by automotive and auxiliary mobile chips.

Analysts expect the XRING O1 to utilize a standard Arm architecture combined with an external 5G modem. Arm's recent X925 large-core architecture, alongside the success of MediaTek's Dimensity 9000 series, underscores the potential of this chip to compete with or surpass Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in flagship performance.

Looking ahead, Xiaomi's upcoming flagship smartphone, likely the Xiaomi 15S Pro, is rumored to incorporate the new self-developed SoC. The device is expected to feature a robust 6100mAh silicon-carbon anode battery with 90W fast charging support, as well as Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology to enable seamless connectivity with Xiaomi's SU7 electric vehicle.