China’s Xiaomi and Unisoc announced that 4nm mobile processors will come soon

China continues to decrease its dependency on the global semiconductor supply chain with substantial governmental backing, as indicated by recent developments in the smartphone sector. Reports from Liberty Times and Commercial Times suggest that Xiaomi and Unisoc have successfully completed the tape-out of their own 4nm mobile processors, utilizing foreign IP cores from ARM and IMG.

Xiaomi, including its subsidiaries Redmi and Poco, has notably rebounded from inventory challenges, achieving a robust production of 41.1 million units in the first quarter of this year. This performance has solidified Xiaomi’s position as the third-largest smartphone manufacturer globally, trailing only Samsung and Apple in market share.

Meanwhile, Unisoc, a Shanghai-based fabless chip firm, specializing in a wide array of technologies including 2G/3G/4G/5G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, has also made strides. According to reports citing Chinese tech bloggers, Unisoc’s 4nm chip is poised to rival Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 in terms of performance.

The reports further speculate on the competitiveness of Xiaomi’s and Unisoc’s advancements in the semiconductor field. Xiaomi’s chip is said to approach the performance levels of Huawei’s Kirin 9000s, which is manufactured using SMIC’s 7nm process. On the other hand, Unisoc’s achievement in tapping out its 4nm chip signals a significant technological leap forward.

Looking ahead, industry insiders anticipate that domestically produced smartphone SoCs in China could potentially reach the 4nm milestone by 2026. However, for now, MediaTek and Qualcomm remain dominant players in the Chinese smartphone chip market.

These developments underscore China’s strategic push towards semiconductor self-sufficiency, supported by advancements from key players like Xiaomi and Unisoc in developing competitive, domestically produced mobile processors. As the global semiconductor landscape continues to evolve, these advancements are likely to play a pivotal role in China’s technological independence in the coming years.