As a result of the DRAM crisis, Xiaomi appears to have identified a cost‑saving opportunity that isn’t immediately obvious from the spec sheet. In our review of the Xiaomi phone, we found that the speaker’s sound quality is noticeably inferior to that of the Xiaomi 15T or Xiaomi 17. Our measurement data from the Xiaomi 17T review also lead to a similar conclusion for this mid-range smartphone. Instead of simply raising the prices of its T-series models (MSRP now starts at around $700, available at Amazon.com), Xiaomi is also cutting costs on the speaker system. In our pink-noise measurement, the Xiaomi 17T performs worse than its predecessor and even worse than the more compact Xiaomi 17.