Xiaomi’s May Product Blitz Can’t Mask a Stock Hitting Rock Bottom

Xiaomi launches the 17 Max with an 8,000 mAh battery, ceramic Smart Band 10 Pro, and early 17T series amid a 30% stock slump and shrinking smartphone margins.

Xiaomi is gearing up for one of its busiest product launches in years, with a wave of new devices expected to hit the Chinese market in May. But the company’s aggressive hardware push is unfolding against a grim backdrop on the bourse, where its shares have slumped to a 52-week low of €3.17 — a near-30% decline since the start of the year.

A Max-Sized Battery, No Rear Display

The Xiaomi 17 Max is tipped for a debut in the second half of May, according to the well-known leaker Digital Chat Station. It would round out the 17-series lineup, joining the 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and 17 Ultra. The standout feature is a colossal 8,000 mAh battery paired with 100W wired charging, housed in a chassis that ditches the rear display found on the Pro models. That space-saving move allows for the larger power pack. The device is also expected to sport a 6.9-inch OLED panel, a 200-megapixel Samsung main sensor, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. No details on international availability have emerged.

Ceramic Comes to the Mid-Range

Alongside the 17 Max, Xiaomi is also preparing an early launch of the Smart Band 10 Pro, with a China release penciled in for May and a global rollout one to two months later. The headline addition is a white ceramic edition — a material previously reserved for flagship smartphones and premium smartwatches. The trade-off is weight: the ceramic variant tips the scales at over 50 grams, compared to under 40 grams for the standard models. Other specs include a 1.74-inch AMOLED display, a dual-band GNSS chip supporting five satellite systems, and up to 20 days of battery life in power-save mode. Rumors suggest both devices could be unveiled at the same event.

The 17T Series Arrives Early

May also brings the 17T and 17T Pro, which Xiaomi is launching roughly four months earlier than usual. Multiple certification filings, including with the FCC and IMDA, confirm the series is destined for global markets. The Pro model is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 and packs a 7,000 mAh battery with 100W fast charging. In Europe, both phones will ship with 12 GB of RAM, while the Pro will be available exclusively in a 512 GB storage configuration.

Margins Under Pressure

The product offensive comes at a time when Xiaomi’s core smartphone business is under significant financial strain. In the fourth quarter of 2025, gross margins in the segment slid to 8.3%, a sharp drop that underscores the intensifying cost pressure. Global shipments stood at just under 38 million units.

The company is responding by pushing further up the price ladder. In China, the share of premium smartphones in total sales hit a record 27.1% — a sign that the strategy is gaining traction. Whether that translates into healthier margins will become clearer on May 26, when the board reviews first-quarter 2026 results. At an investor day in late April, Xiaomi also outlined plans to enter the European EV market in the second half of 2027, with right-hand-drive markets following in early 2028.

A Chip Roadmap Takes Shape

Beyond smartphones, Xiaomi is deepening its semiconductor ambitions. The next in-house processor, the XRING O3, features a simplified three-cluster architecture — a departure from the four-cluster design of the XRING O1. The prime core is expected to hit 4.05 GHz, with the GPU clocked at nearly 1.5 GHz. The chip is destined for the Xiaomi 17 Fold, internally codenamed “Q18,” which is slated for an August 2026 launch in China, possibly timed to the company’s August 8 Xiaomi Day. The XRING O3 will be fabricated on TSMC’s 3nm process. A sibling chip, the XRING O2, is also in development on the same node but is primarily aimed at automotive applications.

For now, though, the market is focused on the near-term picture. All the specs circulating are based on supply chain leaks — Xiaomi has yet to make any official announcements. That could change soon, as the company prepares to report its first-quarter numbers. Until then, the stock remains stuck near the floor, with investors waiting to see whether the product blitz can translate into a financial turnaround.