Emir BardakçıA new leak on the upcoming Xiaomi 17S series has revealed that the Chinese company is pushing forward with its long-term plan to develop advanced in-house processors. Currently, the Xiaomi 15S Pro introduced the company’s first custom chipset, the XRING O1, which marked an important milestone in Xiaomi’s silicon roadmap. Early reports now indicate that the next-generation XRING O2 chip is already in the works and expected to debut in the Xiaomi 17S series.
Xiaomi’s Next Step in In-House Chip Technology
A recent report from the well-known Chinese source Smart Pikachu says Xiaomi is already developing internally a new line of phones called the Xiaomi 17S series. The S-series has traditionally acted as Xiaomi’s experimental platform, allowing the company to test and refine its own silicon technologies before deploying them in mainstream global flagships.
Especially for this new generation, one could expect the introduction of the XRING O2, an upgraded custom processor that will continue Xiaomi’s strategy of reducing reliance on external suppliers and strengthening its technological independence.
Why the XRING O1 Was Important
The Xiaomi 15S Pro came as a mid-cycle refresh, which replaced the usual Qualcomm chipset with Xiaomi’s in-house XRING O1. While the overall hardware design of the device remained largely similar, the processor transition turned out to be the massive technological feat that showed Xiaomi was capable of creating a competitive high-performance chip and laid the base for even more advanced developments.
What to Expect from the XRING O2 Chip
Xiaomi is believed to be developing the XRING O2 using ARM’s Travis core, with the expectation that this will deliver measurable improvements in performance and efficiency over the first-generation platform.
The leak also mentions that the baseband development is still ongoing. Considering the fact that network components are usually the most complex part of any mobile chipset, this supports the expectation that the Xiaomi 17S series will not arrive before 2026. Xiaomi seems to be prioritizing stability and refinement instead of rushing to bring about the next major silicon upgrade.
Continue with China-Exclusive Strategy
As things stand now, the Xiaomi 17S series will not see releases outside the Chinese market, similar to the case with the 15S series. That is a controlled rollout to help the company improve and validate new chip architectures before a wider rollout. Until then, international Xiaomi smartphones will have to be content with the continuing use of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and associated platforms.
Xiaomi’s Roadmap Toward Silicon Independence
The decision is not a short experiment for Xiaomi, but rather a long-term commitment. With the XRING O2 already in development, the brand is taking steady steps toward a more independent and optimized hardware ecosystem.
The 2026 release timeline gives Xiaomi enough room to enhance performance, ensure compatibility, and strengthen the XRING platform for future generations.
