Xiaomi's Lu Weibing Says True AI Smartphones Are Still Far Off
Ahead of the Xiaomi 18 Pro series launch on September 23, Xiaomi President Lu Weibing stated that true AI-powered smartphones are still a long way from practical everyday use. He highlighted that the upcoming flagship series represents Xiaomi's start in comprehensively transforming smartphones with AI across software, hardware, imaging, and large model applications. The executive's candid assessment tempers the aggressive marketing hype surrounding 'AI phones' across the smartphone industry. It signals that while hardware makers are actively integrating large models and chipset-level AI features, fully autonomous AI mobile experiences require ongoing long-term effort from the entire ecosystem. Xiaomi plans to officially unveil the Xiaomi 18 Pro series on September 23 at 19:00, calling it the largest upgrade in the history of Xiaomi's flagship series. Lu Weibing emphasized that true progress requires joint collaboration across both the AI software and mobile hardware industries.
## BACKGROUND
Smartphone manufacturers have increasingly highlighted 'AI phone' capabilities as a primary selling point, integrating generative AI and large language models directly into mobile operating systems. However, many current implementations remain focused on isolated features like photo editing or text summarization rather than seamless system-wide intelligence.