Xiaomi has announced its first smartphone running its own chipset, an updated version of the Mi5 launched a year ago.
Completely designed and developed in-house, the Surge S1 is Xiaomi's first-generation SoC and took over two years to bring to market. Xiaomi said it aimed to balance performance with power efficiency in a chip ready for large-scale production.
The Surge S1 features eight A53 cores of 4x1.4 GHz and 4x2.2 GHz as well as a Mali T860 GPU, audio and 4K video modules, and modem. It features a 32-bit high performance DSP for better voice processing and dual microphones for noise reduction, while the camera benefits from a 14-bit dual-core ISP for enhanced image processing and light sensitivity.
Xiaomi said one of the advantages of having its own baseband is it can roll out upgrades faster, so the new Mi5c will get Android 7.1 in March already. The new phone comes with a 5.15-inch JDI display, 3 GB RAM, 64 GB storage and fast charging on the 2.860 mAh battery. It will be available in a choice of pink, gold or black.
