Chinese technology giant Xiaomi is planning a new high-end chip for its smartphones, a top executive at the company told CNBC. However, unlike rival Apple, the company will not release a new chip on a yearly basis. The Rationale Behind Chip DesignA custom-made SoC is a critical part of a smartphone, and designing its own chips could give Xiaomi a similar advantage to Apple’s. For example, the Xiaomi 17 smartphone, which was launched this week, features Qualcomm’s latest SoC. Xu said that Xiaomi will continue to use chips from its partners even as it develops its own semiconductors.