At 7 PM on September 25th, XIAOMI-W will unveil its 17 series smartphones, directly skipping the 16 series to align with Apple's iPhone naming convention. Lei Jun (born December 16, 1969) will also deliver his annual personal speech, stating that "being in your fifties is the prime age to push forward," and will share the latest developments in automotive and chip manufacturing during the launch event.
The Xiaomi 17 series will feature the world's first launch of Qualcomm's 5th Generation Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, a chip manufactured using third-generation 3nm technology with a record-breaking main frequency of 4.6GHz. President Lu Weibing noted that XIAOMI-W achieved a "true first-launch same-day delivery" - Qualcomm announced the processor in the morning, and XIAOMI-W launched the phone in the evening.
The new product lineup includes three models: Xiaomi 17 standard version, Xiaomi 17 Pro, and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, all running MIUI OS 3. Lu Weibing emphasized this represents "the most significant leap in Xiaomi's digital series smartphone history," with the product launch scheduled one month earlier than the previous generation.
Lei Jun posted on Weibo today stating that many people are concerned about the Xiaomi 17 series pricing. He noted that President Lu had already addressed this last week. The Xiaomi 17 standard version will offer "more value at the same price" while significantly upgrading specifications; the Xiaomi 17 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max will continue to target higher market segments, with pricing to be announced tonight.
This launch comes as XIAOMI-W's performance reaches new heights. Second-quarter financial results showed company revenue of 115.96 billion yuan, up 30.5% year-over-year, with adjusted net profit of 10.83 billion yuan, up 75.4% year-over-year, both setting historical records.
Cross-Generation Naming Directly Challenges Apple Competition
XIAOMI-W rarely skips a generation, jumping directly from the 15 series to the 17 series to maintain synchronized naming with Apple's iPhone product line. Lu Weibing stated that XIAOMI-W has "enough confidence to directly face iPhone on the same generation and level," with this confidence stemming from a shift in product philosophy: "No weaknesses in high-end, from parameter leadership to experience priority, deep integration of software and hardware."
The three products feature clear differentiated positioning: Xiaomi 17 is positioned as "the strongest standard flagship in history, comprehensive major upgrade, more value at same price"; Xiaomi 17 Pro as "the most sophisticated small-size technology imaging flagship"; and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max as "the most powerful peak technology imaging flagship in history."
Lu Weibing acknowledged that "Apple remains excellent, and everyone has seen the success of the iPhone 17 series," but emphasized that since launching its premium strategy five years ago, XIAOMI-W has been "learning from the greatest competitor, firmly benchmarking against iPhone," achieving "visible significant progress" in premium market positioning.
Hundred-Billion R&D Investment Supports Technology Upgrade
XIAOMI-W's premium confidence is built on massive R&D investment. Lu Weibing revealed that XIAOMI-W has invested over 100 billion yuan in research and development, with plans to increase this to 200 billion yuan over the next five years. This technological accumulation will be fully demonstrated in the Xiaomi 17 series.
Lei Jun previously stated that automotive manufacturing and chip development restart were almost simultaneous decisions, "putting all of XIAOMI-W's accumulated resources from the first ten years on the line." As of the end of April this year, Xiaomi's Surge chip cumulative R&D investment exceeded 13.5 billion yuan, with a research team of over 2,500 people, and this year's projected R&D investment exceeding 6 billion yuan.
At tonight's launch event, Lei Jun will also hold his sixth annual speech with the theme "Change," sharing stories about Xiaomi Surge chips and Xiaomi automobiles. XIAOMI-W's automotive venture began with the official announcement in 2023, the first vehicle model Xiaomi SU7 launched in March 2024, and the first SUV model Xiaomi YU7 was announced at year-end.
Global First Launch of Snapdragon Flagship Chip
The Xiaomi 17 series will globally debut Qualcomm's 5th Generation Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform, which Qualcomm calls "the world's fastest mobile CPU." This chip, manufactured using third-generation 3nm technology, shows significant improvement in power consumption performance compared to its predecessor, with a main frequency reaching a record high of 4.6GHz.
Lei Jun praised the processor as "truly strong," and Lu Weibing also stated that "the 5th Generation Snapdragon 8 Elite is a major upgrade with strong product capabilities." The close cooperation between XIAOMI-W and Qualcomm is reflected in the synchronized launch timing - Qualcomm announced the processor in the morning, and XIAOMI-W launched phones featuring the chip in the evening.
Notably, even competitor BYD Auto posted on its official Weibo to wish the Xiaomi 17 series launch success, stating "persist through doubt, explore in barrenness, salute to the dreamers," to which Lei Jun replied "sincere thanks," demonstrating industry recognition of XIAOMI-W's technological capabilities.