It’s not often that we see a new entrant in the mobile chipset industry; that’s why it’s exciting to see Xiaomi roll out its Xring O1 platform.
That isn’t the case with the Xring O1; Xiaomi is clearly positioning it as a rival to the best that Qualcomm and MediaTek have to offer; the chipset built on a second-gen TSMC 3nm node, and comes with a 10-core CPU and 16-core Arm Immortalis-G925 GPU.
Xiaomi doesn’t have an integrated modem, and is instead using an external MediaTek T800 modem that’s built on a 4nm node.
Interestingly, the CPU has energy efficiency in line with what Qualcomm and MediaTek are delivering, and that’s an achievement in and of itself.
In addition to the Xring O1, Xiaomi unveiled the Xring T1, a smartwatch platform that will see a decent amount of use on the brand’s wearables.
Xiaomi’s launch of the Xring O1 platform is exciting because new players in the mobile chipset market are uncommon. Although Samsung is still making progress with its Exynos designs, it is far from matching what the other two chip vendors are able to consistently deliver. Qualcomm and MediaTek essentially have a duopoly in this area.
Although Google’s Tensor portfolio is doing a respectable job, these products are tailored to concentrate on artificial intelligence rather than necessarily offering the greatest power. The Xring O1, on the other hand, is positioned by Xiaomi as a competitor to the best that Qualcomm and MediaTek have to offer. It has a 10-core CPU and a 16-core Arm Immortalis-G925 GPU, and it is built on a second-generation TSMC 3nm node.
Arm’s v9.2 cores are being used by Xiaomi, and its 10-core architecture gives it a clear advantage over its competitors who have long stuck to an octa-core setup. Two Cortex X925 cores running at 3.9GHz, four Cortex A725 cores running at 3.4GHz, two more A725 cores running at 1.9GHz, and two Cortex A520 cores running at 1.8GHz are all used in the Xring O1. To maximize the tri-core architecture, the manufacturer is utilizing Arm’s CoreLink Interconnect system.
The Immortalis-G925’s 16 shader cores also allow Xiaomi to declare a clear victory over MediaTek, which employs 12 cores in its Dimensity 9400. It also has a 6-core NPU with 44 TOPS, which is comparable to what Qualcomm is providing on the 8 Elite, and Xiaomi’s proprietary ISP, which is currently in its fourth generation. Xiaomi adds that 2,500 engineers are employed in its chip division and that this is only the beginning of a ten-year investment that is expected to surpass $6.9 billion USD.
Xiaomi’s 2017 Surge S1 was an attempt at custom chip design, but it was more budget-friendly and less ambitious than what the company is currently producing. Xiaomi is so pleased with its accomplishments that it included the Xring O1 in its most recent devices, the Pad 7 Ultra tablet and the Xiaomi 15S Pro.
With the exception of switching to the Xring O1 silicon, the 15S Pro is exactly the same as the 15 Pro that made its debut at the end of last year. With a new design and 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage as standard (rather than 256GB), Xiaomi is restricting the phone’s availability to China.
Since the Pad 7 Ultra has a large 14-inch OLED screen, which is a significant improvement over the Pad 7 and Pad 7 Pro’s 11-point 2-inch LCD, I’m more interested in it. In addition, it boasts a huge 12,000mAh battery. I can’t wait to use it and see what the Xring O1 can do for a device this size.
I would like to test two things with the Xring O1: battery efficiency and modem durability. Instead of using an integrated modem, Xiaomi uses an external MediaTek T800 modem that is based on a 4nm node. Battery efficiency is typically impacted by the use of an external modem, and it will be interesting to observe how it performs in practical situations against competitors like Qualcomm and MediaTek.
Chinese YouTuber Geekerwan conducted extensive testing on the Xring O1 (the video is in Mandarin, but it has English subtitles) and discovered that it outperforms the Dimensity 9400. I haven’t had a chance to test the 15S Pro yet. Curiously, the CPU’s energy efficiency is comparable to that of Qualcomm and MediaTek, which is a noteworthy accomplishment in and of itself.
However, battery efficiency testing revealed that using an external modem had an impact on battery life; in the same test, the Qualcomm-based model lasted 40 minutes longer. We will simply have to wait and see how the Chinese manufacturer performs in this area as Xiaomi must eventually produce its own 5G modem, which has proven to be challenging for anyone other than Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung.
Xiaomi unveiled the Xring T1, a smartwatch platform that will be used extensively on the company’s wearables, in addition to the Xring O1. A week ago, Xiaomi and Qualcomm jointly announced that their 15-year partnership would be extended and that Qualcomm silicon would continue to be used in Xiaomi flagships. This announcement’s timing is intriguing.
Xiaomi is obviously positioning its own designs for devices that are exclusive to its home market, even though it is quite possible that the company uses Qualcomm for phones it releases worldwide. That represents a substantial change in approach, and it is evident from the hardware the company has so far shown that the Xring O1 can compete with the Dimensity 9400 and Qualcomm’s flagship silicon.
