Xiaomi Inc is aiming to use smartphone processor chips designed in-house in some of its lower-priced handsets in the second half of this year, Reuters reports. The move could put pressure on industry leaders such as Qualcomm and MediaTek, which supply the company.

The in-house smartphone application processor chips are designed for Xiaomi's mid- to low-priced smartphone model RedMi Note series, but it is unclear how many Xiaomi is planning to make this year.

Xiaomi has long been keen on making in-house chips.

Beijing Pinecone Electronics is controlled by Xiaomi, although Xiaomi declined to comment on its ties with the company.

In related news, Xiaomi will unveil its new smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi 5, at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Spain and in Beijing on February 24.

Taiwan-based ODM Inventec will produce two million units of the Mi 5 for the first batch of shipments to Xiaomi, said the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) paper, noting that the smartphone will be manufactured by Inventec's subsidiary, Inventec Appliances, in Nanjing.