55-year-old Lei Jun is still making strides! The Xiaomi 17 series will be released tonight: cross-generational naming to compete with Apple, standard version "more features without a price increase"

On the evening of September 25th at 7 PM, Xiaomi will launch the 17 series smartphones, directly skipping the 16 series and naming it in line with the Apple iPhone generation. At the same time, Lei Jun will deliver his personal annual speech, stating, "In my fifties, it's the age to take risks," and will share the latest progress in car manufacturing and chip development during the launch event.

The Xiaomi 17 series will feature the world's first Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which is built on a third-generation 3nm process with a record-high clock speed of 4.6GHz. President Lu Weibing stated that Xiaomi has achieved "true launch day availability"—the processor is announced in the morning, and the smartphone is launched in the evening.

The new product line includes three models: Xiaomi 17 Standard Edition, Xiaomi 17 Pro, and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, all equipped with Xiaomi Surge OS 3. Lu Weibing emphasized that this will be "the most significant leap in the history of Xiaomi's digital series," with the product release a month earlier than the previous generation.

Today, Lei Jun posted on Weibo that many people are concerned about the pricing of the Xiaomi 17 series. In fact, last week, Lu had already mentioned it. The Xiaomi 17 Standard Edition, while significantly upgraded, will have "more features without a price increase"; the Xiaomi 17 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max will continue to target higher positioning, with pricing announced in the evening.

Xiaomi's move comes at a time when its performance is hitting new highs. The second-quarter financial report shows that the company's revenue reached 115.96 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.5%, and the adjusted net profit was 10.83 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 75.4%, both setting historical records.

Cross-Generation Naming Directly Faces Apple Competition

Xiaomi has rarely skipped the 16 series to directly launch the 17 series, maintaining synchronized naming with the Apple iPhone product line. Lu Weibing stated that Xiaomi "is confident enough to face the iPhone at the same generation and level," and this confidence stems from a shift in product philosophy: "High-end without shortcomings, from parameter leadership to experience priority, with deep integration of software and hardware."

The three products have clearly differentiated positioning: the Xiaomi 17 is positioned as "the strongest standard flagship in history, with comprehensive upgrades and more features without a price increase"; the Xiaomi 17 Pro is "the most exquisite small-sized technology imaging flagship"; and the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is "the most powerful peak technology imaging flagship in history."

Lu Weibing acknowledged that "Apple is still very impressive, and we have all seen the success of the iPhone 17 series," but emphasized that since Xiaomi launched its high-end strategy five years ago, it has been "learning from the greatest competitor and firmly benchmarking against the iPhone," achieving "significant progress that is evident" in the high-end market.

Hundreds of Billions in R&D Investment Supports Technological Upgrades

Xiaomi's confidence in its high-end strategy is built on substantial R&D investment. Lu Weibing revealed that Xiaomi has invested over 100 billion yuan in R&D, and plans to increase this to 200 billion yuan over the next five years. This technological accumulation will be fully reflected in the Xiaomi 17 series.

Lei Jun previously stated that the decision to manufacture cars and restart chip production was made almost simultaneously, "putting all the savings accumulated by Xiaomi in the first ten years on the line." As of the end of April this year, the cumulative R&D investment in the Xiaomi 玄戒 chip has exceeded 13.5 billion yuan, with a research team of over 2,500 people. This year, the R&D investment is expected to exceed 6 billion yuan.

At tonight's launch event, Lei Jun will also hold his sixth annual speech, themed "Change," during which he will share stories related to the Xiaomi 玄戒 chip and Xiaomi cars. Xiaomi's foray into car manufacturing was officially announced in 2023, with the first model, the Xiaomi SU7, released in March 2024, followed by the announcement of the first SUV, the Xiaomi YU7, at the end of the year.

Global Debut of Snapdragon Flagship Chip

The Xiaomi 17 series will globally debut with Qualcomm's fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform, which Qualcomm calls "the world's fastest mobile CPU." This chip, built on a third-generation 3nm process, shows significant improvements in power consumption compared to its predecessor, with a peak frequency reaching an all-time high of 4.6GHz.

Lei Jun commented that this processor is "indeed powerful," and Lu Weibing also stated that "the fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 has a major upgrade, with strong product capabilities." The close cooperation between Xiaomi and Qualcomm is reflected in the synchronization of their release times—Qualcomm releases the processor in the morning, and Xiaomi launches the phone equipped with that chip in the evening.

Notably, even competitor BYD Auto posted on its official Weibo to wish the Xiaomi 17 series a successful launch, stating, "In the face of doubt, we act with determination; in the midst of desolation, we explore; salute to the dream chasers." Lei Jun replied, "Sincerely thank you," showing the industry's recognition of Xiaomi's technological strength