Xiaomi seems to be planning the next step in its in-house chip development with the XRING 02, the likely successor to the XRING 01. The company recently filed a trademark for the XRING 02, which could signal the beginning of development for the new chipset. This follows the release of the XRING 01, which was Xiaomi’s first attempt at producing a custom 3nm chip, bringing the company closer to reducing its reliance on third-party chipmakers like Qualcomm and MediaTek.
However, for Xiaomi’s vision to become a reality, successors to the XRING 01, such as the XRING 02, must come to fruition.
The trademark filing for the XRING 02 was discovered through a leak shared by @faridofanani96 on X, and further investigation revealed it on the Chinese platform TianYanCha. Xiaomi has also registered trademarks for other names, like XRING T1, which is the custom chipset used in the Xiaomi Watch S4, and XRING 0. The filing of XRING 02 suggests that Xiaomi is actively working behind the scenes on more advanced chipsets.
The XRING 01 was produced using TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process. As for the XRING 02, it could either use the more advanced 3nm N3P node or potentially even a cutting-edge 2nm process, depending on how quickly Xiaomi can bring the new chip to market. However, a challenge looms ahead: with the U.S. banning the export of specific EDA tools needed for semiconductor development, Xiaomi may be unable to utilize the 2nm process for the XRING 02.
Instead, Xiaomi may have to rely on TSMC’s 3nm N3E process, which, while still highly advanced, would leave the XRING 02 potentially lagging behind competitors like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3 and Apple’s A20 series, which are expected to use TSMC’s 2nm node. Unlike Huawei and SMIC, Xiaomi is not on Taiwan’s export control list, so it can still import EDA tools if it secures a license.
In conclusion, the XRING 02 could still compete with the top players in the chipset market, but we’ll need to wait a few more months to get a clearer picture of what Xiaomi has in store.