Xiaomi is no longer the top Chinese OEM. It’s going through some tough times right now and especially since Hugo Barra left the company but it’s not giving up. The execs at Xiaomi are determined to do better this time and hopefully get is crown back from Huawei. The company announced a number of new products such as the Xiaomi Redmi 4X, Mi 5C, and the In-House SoC Surge S1.
Surge S1
The latter is the Pinecone processor we’ve been anticipating since we first heard about it. It’s the company’s first ever chipset for the smartphones. Manufacturing its own processor means Xiaomi can be more efficient. It can also monitor and be assured of the quality of the products being installed on the devices.
Some companies already have their system-on-chip (SoC) so it also makes sense that Xiaomi follows after Samsung and Huawei who have the Exynos and Kirin processors, respectively. There’s also Apple with the A series and this Xiaomi’s entry to the game is very much welcome.
The new processor will be ready soon and known as the Surge S1. It’s an octa-core 64-bit processor that can run up to 2.2GHz frequency. It’s coupled with ali-T860 quad-core GPU and 32-bit high performance DSP. The chipset is also capable of better voice processing for calls, efficient noise reduction with the dual microphones, and better image processing capabilities. Its baseband is upgradable which means VoLTE is supported and that it is more secure than ever.
Xiaomi Redmi 4X
Xiaomi also launched the Redmi 4X. It comes equipped with 4100mAh battery, fingerprint sensor, full metal body design, Snapdragon 435 processor, 2.5D curved glass, 2GB or 3GB RAM, and 16B or 32GB expandable onboard storage. Price of the 2GB variant is ￥699 ($102) while the 32GB is ￥899 ($130).
Xiaomi Mi 5C
The Mi 5C is one sleek, slim, and lightweight smartphone. It also runs the new Surge S1 so we can say it is the first one powered by its in-house chipset. It boasts of a 5.15-inch JDI screen, 1.6mm ultra-thin bezels, front fingerprint sensor, 9V 2A fast charging tech, 3GB RAM, 64GB storage, 12MP camera, and a 2860mAh battery. Price tag reads RMB 1,499 which is about $218 in the US.
SOURCE: MIUI
