BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese smartphone and electric vehicle maker Xiaomi ( XIACF ) said on Thursday it would launch a new self developed mobile phone chip, XringO1, in late May.

The announcement was made by Xiaomi's ( XIACF ) CEO Lei Jun on his Weibo account. He did not give any further details.

The move marks an effort by Xiaomi ( XIACF ) to develop an advanced mobile processor, as it has been focused on simpler chips such as power management chips and image sensors used on smartphones.

Competition in China's smartphone market has been intensifying, with rivals like Huawei and Apple leveraging their own custom-designed chips to create tightly integrated ecosystems and enhance user experience.

Apple started designing its own custom chips in 2010, with the introduction of the A4 chip in the first-generation iPad and iPhone 4.

As of this year most of its products use Apple silicon including the M series for Macs and iPads, the A series for iPhones and iPads, and the S series for Apple Watch.