Leak: Xiaomi’s new custom phone chipset could match 2022’s best silicon

Apple, Samsung, and HUAWEI are the only smartphone makers currently offering fully custom processors, while Google also offers semi-custom Tensor chips in partnership with Samsung. We previously heard that Xiaomi could join this club with a new smartphone chip, and it looks like we’ve got some apparent details.

Leaker Yogesh Brar has posted several purported details about the new Xiaomi smartphone processor. For starters, it’s believed the chipset is based on TSMC’s second-generation 4nm process (N4P) and has similar performance figures as 2022’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. That would mean the processor is a long way behind current flagship chips in terms of horsepower, nevermind next-generation silicon.

The tipster also alleges that Chinese chipmaker Unisoc is providing a 5G modem and that the chipset will be revealed in the first half of 2025.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Xiaomi potentially working on a new smartphone chip. MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai hinted at a custom Xiaomi chipset project back in January 2024.

It also wouldn’t be Xiaomi’s first custom smartphone processor. The company launched the Surge S1 chip in 2017, powering the Mi 5C phone. Xiaomi was reportedly working on a follow-up processor but abandoned its custom chipset efforts before it could be formally announced. The company has since switched to developing smaller chips focused on power/battery management, charging, and imaging. These chips are found in its recent flagship Android phones.

You could make a strong argument that there’s never been a better time for a custom Xiaomi chipset. Strained relations between China and the US have seen sanctions levied against various Chinese tech companies. So a stockpile of in-house chips could help if Xiaomi is cut off from suppliers like Qualcomm and MediaTek. In fact, the US briefly barred US investments in Xiaomi in 2021 before the smartphone maker won a court battle to reverse the move.

We also wonder what this upcoming processor will look like. It stands to reason that Xiaomi will use off-the-shelf Arm CPU and GPU technologies for this chip, in line with MediaTek. But we’re keen to see other areas like camera capabilities, AI, multimedia, and more.