Xiaomi plans to use its own mobile AP (Application Processor) inside its upcoming budget smartphones. Dubbed Rifle, the company plans to unveil the chipset at its event on May 10th. The Chinese smartphone OEM is also expected to unveil the Mi Max, the Mi Band 2, and MIUI 8 at the event.

Xiaomi will be using standard ARM cores in its ‘Rifle’ chipset, and not develop its own in-house ARM-based cores like Apple or Samsung are doing with their chipsets.

“Xiaomi plans to release its in-house Rifle-dubbed mobile APUs at a company event, which has been set to take place May,” an official at Xiaomi’s component partner said, Monday.

By using its own chipset, Xiaomi will be reducing its reliance on Qualcomm, the world’s largest chipset supplier. Since it will no longer have to pay royalties to Qualcomm, it would be able to lower the prices of its devices even further. Additionally, Xiaomi is expected to use its Rifle chipset in its TVs and tablets down the line as well.

Even though Xiaomi ends up using its own AP inside its future budget smartphones, it is likely that the company will use a modem from Qualcomm for all its connectivity needs.

It is surprising to see Xiaomi develop its own chipset, especially since the OEM shares a very close relationship with Qualcomm. However, its own chipset will allow Xiaomi to better optimise MIUI for its low-end devices.