Xiaomi Hooking Up With Google Gemini

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is repportedly working with Google to integrate its Gemini large language model (LLM) into the Chinese firm's next flagship series for international markets. This is expected to intensify competition in the nascent segment for handsets with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

"Thrilled to collaborate with Google on upcoming Xiaomi flagship devices for international markets," Xiaomi founder, chairman and chief executive Lei Jun wrote in a post on X, following an announcement at the two-day Google I/O Connect China event in Beijing that concluded last 8 August.

"Leveraging Google Cloud and Gemini, we're set to offer smarter, more intuitive experiences," he added.

The upcoming Xiaomi 15 smartphones are widely expected to be introduced later this year, in line with previous launches for the 12 series in 2021, the 13 line in 2022 and the 14 series in 2023.

No announcement has been made for the LLM - the technology behind generative AI (GenAI) services like ChatGPT - that Xiaomi will integrate into its 15 series for the mainland. Xiaomi has developed its own AI model, named MiLM, according to Chinese regulatory filings in May.

Google's Gemini, like other foreign AI services, is not available on the mainland, where internet watchdog the Cyberspace Administration of China requires preregistration and review of AI systems and applications.

Xiaomi's Gemini initiative reflects the aggressive moves by Chinese Android handset vendors to adopt GenAI technology into their devices amid this year's expected recovery in the global smartphone industry.

That could provide some momentum for Beijing-based Xiaomi, which research firm IDC ranked as the world's third-largest smartphone vendor in the second quarter with a 14.8 per cent market share. Samsung Electronics and Apple led the industry in the same quarter with shares of 18.8 per cent and 15.8 per cent, respectively, according to IDC data.

Worldwide GenAI smartphone shipments in 2024 are forecast to grow 363.6 per cent year on year to 234.2 million units, according to an IDC report last month. Meanwhile, IDC figures show that global smartphone shipments rose 6.5 per cent year on year to 285.4 million units in the second quarter.