Xiaomi’s in-house smartphone SoC, the Xring 01, debuted in May this year, challenging Apple’s silicon in China. It is a 3nm chip with a 16-core Immortalis-G925 GPU and a claimed score of over 3 million on AnTuTu. This meant it gave tough competition to its rivals. It appears the company is working on a successor, as a new rumour sheds light on the same. A new report says that the Xiaomi Xring 02 will debut in 2026, but the bad news is that it will stick to TSMC’s 3nm process.
Xiaomi Xring 02 may debut in 2026
The Xiaomi ‘Xring 02’ trademark was filed earlier this year, hinting that the company is indeed planning a successor. According to the MyDrivers report, the chip will be based on TSMC’s 3nm. This is disappointing considering the mass production of TSMC’s 2nm wafers will begin in the fourth quarter of 2025, and the competition will move towards this technology. If Xiaomi indeed goes with TSMC’s 3nm process, it would be an entire generation behind the competition.
The Xiaomi Xring 01 was fabricated on the second-generation 3nm ‘N3E’ technology. There are chances the successor could be based on TSMC’s third-generation 3nm ‘N3P’. The report adds that the Xiaomi Xring 02 may debut in 2026.
May power more than just smartphones
The reason behind Xiaomi going the 3nm route is not quite clear at the moment, but it could have been the cost consideration. Reportedly, each of TSMC’s 2nm wafers will cost $30,000 apiece. This is before the tape-out phase, where companies spend huge bucks to see if the test silicon performs as expected.
Lastly, the report adds that the Xring 02 is likely to power the Xiaomi 16S Pro. To recall, the Xring 01 powered the Xiaomi 15S Pro earlier this year. Additionally, the new generation chip will not just power smartphones or tablets; the company is reportedly considering it for cars and other applications. This integration process could take a lot of development time, while also possibly increasing the company’s expenses.
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