In a move that’s likely to rattle Qualcomm’s boardrooms and catch Washington’s eye, Xiaomi has officially launched its first high-end in-house processor — the XRING O1, a 3nm mobile SoC developed after four years of intense R&D. Unveiled alongside the Xiaomi 15S Pro, Pad 7 Ultra, and the XRING T1 smartwatch chip, this bold announcement marks the brand’s entrance into the ultra-premium chip race — and perhaps, into geopolitical crosshairs.
🔥 China Cheers, the U.S. Watches
With 19 billion transistors, a 10-core CPU, and a 16-core Immortalis-G925 GPU, the XRING O1 isn’t just another chip — it’s a battle flag. Beijing praised the launch as a national-level achievement. At the same time, industry watchers note that Xiaomi is positioning itself as China’s next great semiconductor hope, especially after Huawei’s bruising struggle under U.S. sanctions.
Xiaomi’s chip is currently fabbed at TSMC using a 3nm second-gen process, but the company has contingency plans in case the U.S. enforces a Huawei-style embargo. In short: Xiaomi is preparing for a tech war, and it’s not bluffing.
🚀 Performance: On Par with Snapdragon 8 Elite, A18 Pro
Clocking 3.9GHz on dual Cortex-X925 cores and boasting 3 million+ AnTuTu scores, Xiaomi’s XRING O1 is built to compete head-to-head with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, Apple’s A18 Pro, and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400. It also integrates a 6-core NPU delivering 44 TOPS, a 4th-gen ISP, and breakthrough power efficiency via four dynamic power modes and a new cooling system.
📱 Introducing the Xiaomi 15S Pro: A Flagship with Firepower
To showcase the XRING O1, Xiaomi refreshed its flagship with the Xiaomi 15S Pro, featuring:
-
2K 3200-nit LTM Display
-
Leica Summilux triple-lens camera (14–120mm)
-
6,100mAh battery with Surge G1/P3 chips
-
UWB, eSIM, AI writing, and semantic search
Finishes include a Composite Fiber aramid-carbon variant and a Sky Blue matte fiberglass edition. Starting at 5,499 RMB, it’s a phone designed to make Qualcomm sweat.
💻 Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra: A Tablet with Muscle
Also powered by the XRING O1, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra is no less impressive:
-
14-inch 3.2K OLED display
-
12,000mAh battery with 120W HyperCharge
-
Eight-speaker system, CAD/Office support, AI-enhanced HyperOS 2
It blurs the lines between laptop and tablet, starting at 5,699 RMB.
⌚ XRING T1 Smartwatch Chip: Custom Silicon for IoT Domination
Xiaomi also debuted the XRING T1, its first 4G smartwatch SoC featuring:
-
Built-in eSIM and 4G baseband
-
35% better 4G performance
-
Lower power consumption
-
Smartphone-free vehicle control
First to feature the chip is the Watch S4 15th Anniversary Edition, showcasing Xiaomi’s ambition to integrate vertically across all devices, not just phones.
From Follower to Force: Xiaomi’s Billion-Dollar Silicon Bet
With 13.5 billion RMB already spent, over 2,500 engineers, and a 50 billion RMB roadmap over the next decade, Xiaomi is no longer content being a Qualcomm customer. It’s aiming to become China’s Apple, designing chips, software (HyperOS), and AI as part of a unified tech ecosystem.
For Qualcomm, it’s a wake-up call. For Apple, it’s a potential rival. For Washington, it’s a strategic challenge. And for China, it’s proof that the global chip hierarchy is changing fast.
