Xiaomi dropped the 17 Ultra in China back in December 2025, and it is finally about to hit the global market. However, there is a bit of a twist for those of us waiting outside of China. It turns out the version we are getting isn’t going to be a carbon copy of the original release.
In a surprising move, the global variant is actually being rebranded as the Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi.
Taking a look at the design, there are a few subtle tweaks compared to its Chinese sibling. For starters, the black model seems to have ditched the two-tone finish in favour of a much more uniform, sleek matte black look across the back. For comparison, here you can see the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition for the Chinese market.
If you look closer at the branding, you will notice the Leica logo in the corner has been rotated by 90 degrees, and they have done the same with the text inside the camera island. The mechanical rotating ring hasn’t gone anywhere. It looks exactly like the one we saw on the Chinese release, so it should still let you dial in your focal length, exposure, and white balance on the fly.
Besides the changes externally, the 17 Ultra global model is expected to have the same specs as the Chinese version, but the battery is rumoured to be just 6,000mAh (vs. 6,800mAh in the Chinese version).