Xiaomi Trademarks Indicate Plan to Build Apple Silicon-Like Family of Custom Chips

[MacRumors]

Xiaomi has filed a trademark for a second-generation custom chip called the "XRING 02," signaling that the company is proceeding with its in-house silicon roadmap mirroring Apple's transition to its own custom chips.

Xiaomi's new filing, first reported by Wccftech and verified via China's TianYanCha trademark database, suggests that development of the XRING 02 system-on-a-chip (SoC) is now underway. The move follows the company's announcement earlier this year of the XRING O1, its first custom processor built with a 3-nanometer process, which debuted in the Xiaomi Tablet 7 Ultra.

Xiaomi openly said that it had looked to Apple as a benchmark for its hardware ambitions and vertical integration across its ecosystem. The company said it had asked itself:

We also want to become one of the top chipmakers, with our phones targeting iPhones, can our chips also be compared against those of Apple's?

The new XRING 02 trademark is one of several filings made by the company in recent weeks. Others include the XRING T1 and XRING 0. Xiaomi likely seeks to build a family of custom processors for use across device categories, similar to Apple's use of the A-series, M-series, and S-series chips in iPhones, Macs, and Apple Watches.

Article Link: Xiaomi Trademarks Indicate Plan to Build Apple Silicon-Like Family of Custom Chips

 

[anshuvorty]

What is that saying?
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

yeah, good luck with that Xioami - all they know is to copy and replicate existing ideas - they did it with their phones, cars, and now, their SoCs…won’t mean that they are as efficient or performant as the OGs…

 

[russell_314]

Are they even capable of building this in China?

Serious question because the machines that make chips are only made by one company and they are banned from selling in China.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Awesome! I love how the market is going back to the late 70s to early 80s days when everything was custom and proprietary! Yay!

/s

 

[MacTwick]

More competition!

 

[kaycrystal626]

Are they even capable of building this in China?

Serious question because the machines that make chips are only made by one company and they are banned from selling in China.

They are make by TSMC.

 

[ThailandToo]

What is that saying?
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

yeah, good luck with that Xioami - all they know is to copy and replicate existing ideas - they did it with their phones, cars, and now, their SoCs…won’t mean that they are as efficient or performant as the OGs…

Competition is a good thing for us all. In the current regulatory environment, or lack thereof, it’s nice to see competition. Have some Xiaomi items and they’re good - ex vacuum and cameras for home security. Made well and packaged well with not terrible software.

 

[asdfjkl;]

It seems to me that the move to AS is killing the Hackintosh. If Xiamoi can bring decent laptop / desktop chips to market it could reinvigorate the Hackintosh. We'll see. I'm skeptical but willing to wait to see what they can do. Competition is good.

 

[ThailandToo]

Are they even capable of building this in China?

Serious question because the machines that make chips are only made by one company and they are banned from selling in China.

Actually, TSMC and Nvidia only can’t sell certain tech like GPUs due to security interests. I mean iPhones and Macs are all made in China so not like they don’t have access to the chips even if they don’t make the chips. While I don’t like technological theft, I don’t think this constitutes it.

 

[ninetyCent]

Actually, TSMC and Nvidia only can’t sell certain tech like GPUs due to security interests. I mean iPhones and Macs are all made in China so not like they don’t have access to the chips even if they don’t make the chips. While I don’t like technological theft, I don’t think this constitutes it.

Don't know what here you get your info from but Huawei had a rough time with their phones because of the export ban. Everyone was surprised when they made a 7nm chip which was buggy af.

 

[Ctrlos]

Awesome! I love how the market is going back to the late 70s to early 80s days when everything was custom and proprietary! Yay!

/s

Thankfully we saw the back of Lightning cables 2 years ago!

 

[Moka Akashiya]

Are they even capable of building this in China?

Serious question because the machines that make chips are only made by one company and they are banned from selling in China.

TSMC N3E process was not restricted by US regulations to be used in China.

I hope the entire market goes back to the late 70s to early 80s days when everything was custom and proprietary! yay!

It seems like most people have been happy with custom and proprietary Apple chips for a long time, so this is the way for effectiveness after the tech process slowdown. Custom Snapdragon GPUs have delivered better performance and efficiency for years compared to ARM Mali, keeping both competitive, and I don't really think proprietary hardware matters much over time when we have locked-down mobile platforms anyway.

 

[Ctrlos]

What is that saying?
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

yeah, good luck with that Xioami - all they know is to copy and replicate existing ideas - they did it with their phones, cars, and now, their SoCs…won’t mean that they are as efficient or performant as the OGs…

Like the PS3 Cell processor?

 

[blahbar]

I love how Macrumors spins everything as everyone else copying Apple. Does it matter that any other companies were doing it already before Apple? Nah - must be an apple innovation! You see this with literally every topic whether Apple is the originator of the idea or not.

 

[Ctrlos]

Huawei looked dead after the Google ruling and yet they've gone on to be the biggest company in China, to the point that Android isn't even the basis of their HarmonyOS anymore. They still make the best camera phones whilst the Tri-fold is at the cutting edge of display technology.

I do wonder if this is making other companies follow suit? Beyond IM most of the apps we use are really just wrappers for website data and PWAs are capable of everything from running locally to sending notifications. You can even get a GBA emulator to play locally stored ROMs with a web app saved to your iPhone.

I wonder if we are on the verge of a change nobody saw coming where the big companies all splinter off with their own chipsets, hardware and OSes and then rely on the open web for PWAs and services?

Developers wanting to maintain maximum compatibility could just build a web app at the fraction of the cost of submitting to a closed app store and not have to worry about a dozen different chipsets. Apple's hardcore defence of its app store revenue might quickly become quite antiquated.

 

[uller6]

Are they even capable of building this in China?

Serious question because the machines that make chips are only made by one company and they are banned from selling in China.

Yes, yes they are. Maybe not immediately, but definitely within a couple of years. Everyone has to start somewhere on the technology stack. Chinese companies will either use 193 nm and SAQP, like intel has been doing for years, or develop homegrown EUV lithography tools that will compete with ASML. Chinese engineers are incredibly capable and determined.

 

[russell_314]

They are make by TSMC.

Actually, TSMC and Nvidia only can’t sell certain tech like GPUs due to security interests. I mean iPhones and Macs are all made in China so not like they don’t have access to the chips even if they don’t make the chips. While I don’t like technological theft, I don’t think this constitutes it.

TSMC N3E process was not restricted by US regulations to be used in China.

Ah so basically they’re having the manufacturer of Apple Silicon to make a version for them. That makes sense now.

 

[sunapple]

Just count on China beating Apple at their own game in a couple of years time, they have being planning to do so for years and are well-trained by none other than Apple themselves.

 

[russell_314]

Yes, yes they are. Maybe not immediately, but definitely within a couple of years. Everyone has to start somewhere on the technology stack. Chinese companies will either use 193 nm and SAQP, like intel has been doing for years, or develop homegrown EUV lithography tools that will compete with ASML. Chinese engineers are incredibly capable and determined.

That’s my big question. I know Taiwan is part of China, but there’s a difference between making it in mainland China, rather than having TSMC make something they already make with a few changes.


It would be interesting to see China make something new and innovative. Global competition helps everyone.

 

[uller6]

That’s my big question. I know Taiwan is part of China, but there’s a difference between making it in mainland China, rather than having TSMC make something they already make with a few changes.


It would be interesting to see China make something new and innovative. Global competition helps everyone.

Many Chinese scientists and engineers are way ahead of their American counterparts in certain fields. This perception that China makes cheap low quality knockoff products is at least 20 years old and doesn’t reflect the reality of today. There is tons of innovation in China now - both manufacturing innovation and at a more basic level they have excellent state supported academic R&D programs. Top-down government technology priorities enable long-term research stability. Chinese R&D is far more robust than American R&D today, and given the current zeitgeist in the US they are likely to eclipse the US in scientific output and technology innovation in a few years.

 

[russell_314]

Many Chinese scientists and engineers are way ahead of their American counterparts in certain fields. This perception that China makes cheap low quality knockoff products is at least 20 years old and doesn’t reflect the reality of today. There is tons of innovation in China now - both manufacturing innovation and at a more basic level they have excellent state supported academic R&D programs. Top-down government technology priorities enable long-term research stability. Chinese R&D is far more robust than American R&D today, and given the current zeitgeist in the US they are likely to eclipse the US in scientific output and technology innovation in a few years.

I totally agree, but that doesn’t change the fact that for some reason only one company makes the machines to make the chips. It’s a company from the Netherlands and I guess due to sanctions they won’t sell the machines needed to make chips like Apple Silicon.

Eventually what will happen is they will start making those machines in China, but I suspect it’s not an easy process. Cutting countries off from the supply chain temporarily cripples them, but in the long term it makes them stronger. Just like how we cut Russia off from US payment processors and now they have completely moved to their own system. Before we had some control now we have none.

 

[lkrupp]

When Apple Silicon was introduced even the world’s fiercest Apple critic, Linus Sebastian (Linus Tech Tips) said he realized this was eventually the future of computing. We are seeing laptops moving in this direction already. What happens to the build-your-own techie enthusiast market is up in the air.

 

[lkrupp]

It seems to me that the move to AS is killing the Hackintosh. If Xiamoi can bring decent laptop / desktop chips to market it could reinvigorate the Hackintosh. We'll see. I'm skeptical but willing to wait to see what they can do. Competition is good.

I really don’t think we’ll see an Apple Silicon workalike because of Apple’s custom design. Such a system would run the ARM instruction set but would almost certainly not be compatible with macOS.

 

[mannyvel]

Awesome! I love how the market is going back to the late 70s to early 80s days when everything was custom and proprietary! Yay!

/s

So you'd rather have a world that had only one vendor/instruction set, x86_64, because it's the be-all end-all of processors?

The fact is, the world is full of processor architectures, and always has been. x86_64's dominance of the consumer mindspace was an anomaly in the albeit short history of the computer industry.

 

[DailySlow]

True there. The Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment is (legally at any rate) unavailable to Huawei AT THIS TIME (cue multi year and chip generational delay and non-parity). https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...s-wider-than-expected-report-says/ar-AA1Hm5sc