Xiaomi just beat everyone to the punch. The company launched the Xiaomi 17 series in China, making it the first smartphone maker to ship devices powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor.
The lineup includes three models: the Xiaomi 17, Xiaomi 17 Pro, and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. But here’s the twist: Xiaomi skipped the “16” branding entirely to go head to head with Apple’s iPhone 17 series. These phones pack some seriously impressive hardware, from massive batteries to rear facing secondary displays on the Pro models.
Xiaomi 17
The base Xiaomi 17 might be the sleeper hit of the bunch. It features a 6.3 inch LTPO OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 3,500 nits of peak brightness. The screen uses Xiaomi’s M10 luminescent material and Dragon Crystal Glass for protection. All of this is packed into a body with razor thin 1.18mm bezels on all sides.
The real story here is the battery. Xiaomi managed to cram a 7,000mAh silicon carbon battery into this compact phone. That’s significantly larger than most flagships on the market, including the Xiaomi 15 from earlier this year. The phone supports 100W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, and even 22.5W reverse wireless charging. On the camera front, you get a triple 50MP setup with Leica tuning, including a main sensor, ultrawide, and a 60mm telephoto lens.
Xiaomi 17 Pro
The Xiaomi 17 Pro is where things get interesting. This model keeps the same 6.3 inch display as the base version but adds something unique: a 2.7 inch secondary display on the back. This isn’t just a gimmick. The rear screen has a resolution of 904 x 572 pixels, supports up to 120Hz refresh rate, and can hit 3,500 nits of brightness with DC dimming.
What can you do with it? You can use the rear cameras for selfies by using the back screen as a viewfinder. This means you get the quality of the main camera system for your self portraits instead of relying on the front camera. The screen also displays notifications, controls music playback, shows countdown timers, and can even display cute wallpapers or turn into a retro game console with the right case.
The 17 Pro packs a 6,300mAh battery with the same charging speeds as the base model. It also includes upgraded camera hardware with a 50MP periscope telephoto offering 5x optical zoom.
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max goes all out. This model bumps the display size up to 6.9 inches while keeping the same LTPO OLED technology and 120Hz refresh rate. The rear secondary display also gets bigger at 2.9 inches with a 976 x 596 pixel resolution. Everything else from the 17 Pro carries over, including the adaptive refresh rate and peak brightness.
Battery capacity jumps to a ridiculous 7,500mAh, making this one of the largest batteries you’ll find in any smartphone. Xiaomi used L shaped battery technology and increased silicon content to 16% to achieve this capacity. The camera system gets an upgrade too.
While the main 50MP sensor and ultrawide lens remain the same as the 17 Pro, the telephoto camera uses a larger 1/2 inch Samsung ISOCELL GN8 sensor with a wider f/2.6 aperture compared to the Pro’s f/3.0. This should result in better low light performance and overall image quality from the zoom lens.
Pricing and availability
The Xiaomi 17 series is currently available in China, with pre orders already live. The base Xiaomi 17 starts at 4,499 Yuan (around $630) for the 12GB/256GB model. The Xiaomi 17 Pro begins at 5,299 Yuan (around $742) for 12GB/256GB.
The top tier Xiaomi 17 Pro Max starts at 5,999 Yuan (around $840) for 12GB/512GB. All three models are available in black, white, purple, and green color options. There’s no word yet on global availability, but Xiaomi typically brings its flagship phones to international markets a few months after the China launch.
