Xiaomi and AMD rumoured to enter the smartphone SoC market soon

Competition in the smartphone market will supposedly get a lot spicier in 2025/26. Incumbents such as Qualcomm, MediaTek, Apple, and Samsung, will now have to face two new challengers: AMD and Xiaomi. The latter is no stranger to smartphone SoCs, having dabbled in the space before, but the latter's entry is definitely one to look out for.

A UDN report says AMD's strategy remains unchanged in the smartphone chipset market. Even here, it will attempt to undercut the competition (MediaTek/Qualcomm) by offering similar performance at a cheaper price. Of course, that is easier said than done because AMD's maiden offerings will undoubtedly have some teething issues. So far, the only evidence we have about such a chip existing is murmurs about Sound Wave, AMD's foray into the Arm ecosystem. But, there's a good chance it is a Windows-on-Arm chip and not one for Android.

Xiaomi, on the other hand, will almost certainly make chips for its own phones, and maybe some Redmi/Poco models. Its first 3 nm chip has already taped out and should be ready for mass production at the beginning of 2025. Whether Xiaomi will use it for a high-end smartphone remains to be seen. Historically, it has always been one of the first OEMs to debut new Qualcomm silicon, and there's a chance that might stay the same until Xiaomi's chips mature a little.