Lei Jun admits to "inner anxiety" in annual speech, Xiaomi 17 officially released

On the evening of September 25, Lei Jun, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Group (01810.HK), delivered his sixth annual speech, sharing stories behind the Xiaomi Xuanjie chip and Xiaomi's car manufacturing efforts. He also officially released the Xiaomi 17 series smartphones.

Tonight's Xiaomi launch event rewrote the industry's memory of the "lightweight compact flagship." The Xiaomi 17 series made its official debut as the most powerful small-sized all-around flagship in Xiaomi's history. With a 6.3-inch body that feels light in the hand and bezels of only 1.18mm on all four sides, it achieves an almost perfect four-sided visual symmetry.

Not only does it look great, but it also debuts Qualcomm's latest fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Supreme Edition chip, touted as the world's fastest mobile SoC, delivering an ultra-high frequency of 4.6GHz. Paired with Xiaomi's exclusive 3D ring-shaped cold pump cooling, the compact size still manages to harness powerful performance.

The battery life is also impressive, featuring a built-in 7000mAh Jinshajiang battery, supporting 100W wired and 50W wireless fast charging, effectively reconciling the contradiction between "small size" and "long battery life." Leica triple cameras, top-level coating, and IP69-level water and dust resistance further max out the configuration.

Lei Jun announced that the starting price of the Xiaomi 17 is 4,499 yuan. Earlier today, he stated that there would be more features without a price increase.

In Lei Jun's sixth annual speech, he focused on responding to external doubts about Xiaomi and elaborated on the chip and car manufacturing strategies. He said that many people believe Xiaomi is already very successful, but he is "filled with unspeakable anxiety inside." He talked about criticism and attacks online, noting that many people have inherent prejudices against Xiaomi, often seeing comments like "Xiaomi is just an assembly plant, has no technology, only knows marketing, and definitely won't go far."

Regarding the chip strategy, Lei Jun emphasized that chips are the only way for Xiaomi to achieve success, and that self-developing mobile SoCs requires at least ten years of persistence and an investment of at least 50 billions. He pointed out that the entry point for Pinecone back then was wrong; developing self-made mobile SoCs for the mid-to-low end had "absolutely no chance." Only by entering from the high end is there a glimmer of hope. "After our research, we found that both Apple and Huawei started from the high end; no mobile phone company started SoC development from the low end. So this conclusion made us fully realize that Pinecone chose the wrong entry point and direction from the start."

Lei Jun stated that failure is not scary; the key is to face your inner fears.

As for the automotive business, he said that the reason Xiaomi was able to achieve results in a relatively short period of time is because it gathered a large group of car enthusiasts and ambitious engineers who hope to accomplish "earth-shattering things" on the Xiaomi platform. Regarding the positioning of the YU7, he said the project carried the mission of being the "trump card" from the very beginning. "If the SU7 is not successful, the YU7 is our last trump card. It must shoulder the mission of turning the tide for Xiaomi Auto."

He recalled the SU7 Ultra Nürburgring certification process, saying that Xiaomi sent 21 emails to the Nürburgring officials, and at the first meeting was asked, "Why does a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer want to come to Nürburgring?" In the end, they won the opportunity with their ambition. He said he still repeatedly watches the official Nürburgring track certification video: "I've watched it at least ten times, and every time my heart still races and my blood boils."

He also mentioned his views on competitor models, saying that the Model Y is a good car. "If you don't choose the YU7, you can choose the Model Y. Of course, other domestic cars are also good. Tomorrow, the Ideal i6 will be released, and you can also consider the Ideal i6," while also "liking" the product orientation of the Ideal L9.