Xiaomi 17 Ultra launched right on schedule at an event in China. There are actually two 17 Ultra versions. The Leica Edition has exclusive hardware and design elements. There are just three cameras on the rear this time, one less sensor than the 15 Ultra. The newcomer has a far better chipset. And definitely a bigger battery than all Ultra devices before it.
The screen sees one downgrade, and that’s the resolution. They demoted the Xiaomi 17 Ultra to 1.5K (2608 × 1200p), though it does allow for more battery saving. It’s still a 6.9” M10 OLED with LTPO 1-120Hz refresh rate and Dolby Vision/HD10+ rating. The local peak brightness has leveled up to 3500 nits.
There’s the same 1920Hz DC PWM dimming as last time. But they did change the protective layer from Shield Glass to Xiaomi Ceramic Glass 2.0. Of course, they swapped out the chip for a newer Snapdragon 8Elite Gen 5. And that silicon now runs at 4.6GHz clock speed.
This chip can thermal throttle very easily, so it needs a cooling system. Xiaomi 17 Ultra has somehow fit a dual-ring liquid cooling system on its chassis. It will keep the processor cool, as well as the heat produced by the camera. Yes, the cameras are that powerful on Xiaomi's new ultra mobile to require heat management.
The lenses are arranged asymmetrically on it because of the huge 200MP periscope camera. It has the biggest lens we’ve seen on a phone. The zoom ranges from 75mm to 400mm. There are two other cameras below. The Main shooter is the 50MP Light Fusion 1050L. It’s an in-house sensor from Xiaomi itself.
This huge 1” sensor has 3rd gen LOFIC tech, so the photos come out brighter in low light scenes with better dynamic range. The third is a 50MP 115° FOV ultrawide lens, which can also do macro shots in a pinch. Xiaomi had help from Leica to optimize imaging and optics.
The selfie shooter on the screen is now upgraded to 50MP. The Leica Edition Xiaomi 17 Ultra even has a mechanical rotating ring on the back, which makes it feel like a true DSLR. There’s a 6800mAh battery here, which can be plugged into a 90W wired charger. You could also do a 50W wireless input. Reverse wireless charging goes all the way up to 20W on Xiaomi 17 Ultra.
The phone is built like a tank, and it’s 8.29mm thick. Satellite connectivity is baked into the device. It’s USB-C 3.2 with Dual Speaker. WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6 are both the latest. You are not really missing out on anything. Ultrasonic fingerprint is also here for milliseconds screen unlock. The Chinese market sees a 6,999 yuan (~PKR 279,000) price for the starter 12/512GB variant. The exclusive Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition is a bit steep: 7,999 yuan (~PKR 318,000) for the 16/512GB trim.