Xiaomi is stepping into new territory by unveiling a high-end mobile chipset, the XRING O1, aimed squarely at competing with Qualcomm and Apple. Alongside this breakthrough, the company has introduced a range of new products, including smartphones, tablets, and smart appliances, initially available in China.
Here’s what you need to know about the latest developments from the Chinese tech giant.
Xiaomi’s XRING O1 chipset changes the game
Xiaomi has now officially entered the chipset arena. The company is taking a major step forward by announcing its XRING O1 processor for smartphones and the XRING T1 for smartwatches. Like Huawei did with Kirin chips, Xiaomi is establishing its presence in the system-on-chip (SoC) market.
The XRING O1 uses a 3nm process and combines Xiaomi’s in-house application processor with MediaTek’s baseband. It features a powerful 10-core CPU with two high-performance Cortex-X925 cores running at 3.9GHz and a 16-core Immortalis-G925 GPU, which should deliver strong graphical performance.
Photography also gets a boost, thanks to a 4th-generation image signal processor (ISP) that can process up to 8.7 billion pixels per second. This is backed by two extra pieces of hardware: a multi-frame HDR compute unit and an AI noise reduction chip.
The chip includes a 6-core neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 44 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) to manage artificial intelligence tasks. Xiaomi claims this NPU offers 35% better performance and 40% lower power use, although no direct comparison figures were shared.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi’s XRING T1 chipset for smartwatches offers eSIM support and enhanced 4G connectivity—35% stronger than unnamed rivals. It can also control Xiaomi smart vehicles without a smartphone. This chip is set to debut in the Xiaomi Watch S4 15th Anniversary Edition.
Xiaomi’s innovation powers the Xiaomi 15S Pro
The new Xiaomi 15S Pro smartphone is the first to feature the XRING O1 chipset. It joins the Xiaomi 15 flagship family but stands out with its custom hardware. In addition to the XRING O1, the phone includes another Xiaomi-made chip, the Surge P3, which is designed to improve battery efficiency.
The 15S Pro sports a Leica-branded triple-camera system: a 50MP main lens (23mm equivalent) with optical image stabilisation (OIS), a 50MP telephoto lens (120mm with 30cm macro support), and a 50MP ultrawide lens (14mm with 5cm macro support and autofocus).
Its 6.73-inch AMOLED display offers a high resolution of 3,220 x 1,440 pixels, a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision. Inside, you’ll find 16GB of LPDDR5T RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. It also has a 6,100mAh battery and ultra-wideband (UWB) connectivity support.
At launch, the Xiaomi 15S Pro is available only in China, with a starting price of CNY5,499 (approximately US$759). It comes in two finishes: Xiaomi Composite Fibre and Sky Blue.
Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra and smart home appliances
Tablets are also getting a performance upgrade. The new Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra sits above the existing Pad 7 and Pad 7 Pro. It features the same XRING O1 chipset, giving it a notable edge over Qualcomm-powered models.
This high-end tablet boasts a large 14-inch OLED display with a resolution of 3,200 x 2,136 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate. It includes LPDDR5T RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage configurations. Its massive 12,000mAh battery supports ultra-fast 120W charging.
For now, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra is available only in China. Prices start at CNY5,699 (around US$787), and it is available in Classic Black and misty purple.
In addition, Xiaomi has unveiled new smart appliances under the Mijia brand. These include:
- Mijia Fresh Air Conditioner Pro Dual-Outlet Vertical 3HP: A standing air conditioner with HEPA filtering, 160° air delivery, and zone control. Priced at CNY8,999 (around US$1,244).
- Mijia Air Conditioner Pro SkyFlow 1.5HP: An upgraded Xiaomi’s wall-mounted air conditioner model.
While these devices may not be as headline-grabbing as the chipset or flagship phone, they still showcase Xiaomi’s continued expansion in the smart home space.
