Xiaomi 2026 Roadmap Includes More Self-Developed Chips, In-House OS and New AI Models

Xiaomi just held an internal award ceremony where it revealed how every department and team performed in 2025. It reviewed 154 projects from 10 different departments across verticals like AI, chipsets, imaging and more. At the same event, Xiaomi President Lei Jun also revealed where the brand is headed next.

Xiaomi's 2026 plans involved more self-developed tech

As reported by Tech GMW China, Xiaomi's XRING O1 chipset team scored the best award of the night. From being the first-ever self-developed smartphone processor to being the only mainstream mainland China brand to release a 3nm flagship processor, this set the stage for the future.

For those unaware, back in 2025, Xiaomi released a version of the Xiaomi 15 phone with the XRING O1 chipset inside. It stayed exclusive to China. However, the ripple effects were felt globally. The SoC boasted a deca-core Arm Cortex CPU, the Immortalis G925 MC16 GPU and Xiaomi's 4th gen ISP.

It was able to compete and in some cases, surpass the likes of the Snapdragon 8 Elite and the Dimensity 9400 processors. So, it makes sense for Lei Jun to reveal that in 2026, Xiaomi will focus on making more in-house chipsets. The brand is also exploring the idea of creating its own Operating System and AI Large Langugage Models.

Moreover, he revealed that Xiaomi has already spent roughly 105 billion Chinese yuan (approximately Rs 140 crores) in R&D for in-house tech alone. So, with an additional 200 billion Chinese yuan (approximately Rs 286 crores) investment for the next five years, Xiaomi wants to become the Apple of the Android world.

From in-house design to in-house R&D and manufacturing, Xiaomi could emerge as the only brand in the world that is completely self-reliant. It is important to note that Xiaomi is the only smartphone brand that makes everything. From racing cars to toothbrushes, Xiaomi today is more than just a smartphone or tech accessories brand. It is an ecosystem of its own.