Xiaomi is going to join the growing roster of smartphone manufacturers designing their own processors, a new report has claimed.
According to EE Times, the China-based company wants to produce custom-built processors for future smartphones.
The report claims the reasoning behind the move is to reduce reliance on other companies, as well as helping differentiate Xiaomi products.
It’s not an unprecedented move; three of the biggest smartphone vendors in China – Apple, Huawei, and Samsung – all design their own mobile processors.
It’s alleged that Xiaomi has signed up a Chinese chip manufacturer called Leadcore as a partner to ‘source the technology’.
The report quotes Marshal Cheng, Leadcore’s vice president, as describing Xiaomi’s strategy shift as ‘inevitable’.
That’s because Xiaomi is now shipping huge numbers of handsets – 61.1 million in 2014.
Producing its own chips means there is less risk of hiccups in the supply chain, as Xiaomi won’t need to rely on Qualcomm or MediaTek, for instance.
Related: Xiaomi in the UK
It’s another sign of Xiaomi’s growing hold on the smartphone market, as the company looks to cement itself as a global leader in the space.
This week, Xiaomi begins retailing products (accessories, not smartphones) to the west for the first time ever.
Do you think more smartphone companies should start producing their own mobile chips? Let us know in the comments.