Xiaomi has officially taken the wraps off its latest flagship line-up – the Xiaomi 17 series – which includes the standard Xiaomi 17, the 17 Pro, and the top-tier 17 Pro Max. All three handsets come powered by Qualcomm’s newest and most powerful chip yet, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
Xiaomi 17
Starting with the base model, the Xiaomi 17 sports a 6.3-inch M10 LTPO OLED display, offering a crisp 1,220 x 2,656 resolution and an adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate. Xiaomi’s gone all in on brightness too, claiming up to 3,500 nits peak (locally) and adding their new Dragon Crystal Glass for durability. Bezels are almost non-existent this time around – measuring just 1.18mm on all four sides – and yes, there’s still an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor tucked under the screen.
Under the bonnet, you’re getting a hefty 4,497mm² vapour chamber for cooling, paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage. It runs on the latest HyperOS 3 and comes in four colours – black, white, blue, and pink.
The design sticks to a flat aluminium frame and is IP68-rated for water and dust resistance. Round the back is a triple camera system that feels familiar: a 50MP ultrawide (17mm equivalent), a 50MP main shooter with the large 1/1.31” Light Hunter 950 sensor (23mm equivalent), and a 50MP telephoto (60mm) with 2.6x optical zoom. Up front, Xiaomi’s upgraded the selfie camera to a sharp 50MP sensor.
Battery life is another headline here. The Xiaomi 17 packs a massive 7,000mAh silicon-carbon (Si/C) battery, which supports 100W wired charging, 50W wireless, and even 22.5W reverse wireless charging – so you can top up your earbuds or a mate’s phone on the go.
Xiaomi 17 Pro
The Xiaomi 17 Pro adds something a bit different – a second screen on the back. This 2.7-inch display has a resolution of 904 x 572, a 120Hz refresh rate, and hits the same eye-watering 3,500 nits brightness as the main one. It’s not just a gimmick either – you can use it to take selfies, control your music, check notifications, run timers, and even customise it with wallpapers or retro game-themed cases that turn it into a tiny console.
This is actually not the first time a second display has appeared on a Xiaomi phone. Take a look at the Mi 11 Ultra, which was released in March 2021.
The front screen remains a 6.3-inch LTPO OLED with the same M10 material, 120Hz refresh rate, and impressive brightness. It’s also protected by Dragon Crystal Glass.
Inside, the Pro model gets a slightly smaller 6,300mAh battery compared to the base model, but keeps the same fast-charging chops – 100W wired, 50W wireless, and 22.5W reverse charging. Xiaomi also includes its Surge G2 battery management chip, which promises at least 80% battery health even after 2,000 charge cycles.
On the camera side, the Pro steps up with a new 50MP 1/1.28” Light Fusion 950L main sensor, featuring large 1.22µm pixels and a wide f/1.67 Leica Summilux lens with OIS. The telephoto gets a major upgrade too – a floating prism design now accommodates a proper 5x periscope lens with a 50MP sensor and f/3.0 aperture.
The 50MP ultrawide offers a 102° field of view – decent, but not class-leading – and the selfie cam is the same upgraded 50MP unit found on the base model. There’s also a new 3D ToF (Time-of-Flight) sensor added to the back for better depth sensing.
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max
At the top of the range, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max goes even larger. It features a 6.9-inch LTPO display, again with 12-bit colours, 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 3,500 nits brightness with DC dimming. The rear display also gets a bump to 2.9 inches.
Battery-wise, it’s practically a power bank – boasting a massive 7,500mAh cell. It supports the same 100W wired charging, 50W wireless, and 22.5W reverse charging, both wired and wireless.
Camera hardware is mostly shared with the Pro – same main 50MP Light Fusion 950L sensor, 50MP ultrawide, and 50MP selfie cam. But the Pro Max gets a redesigned telephoto camera, using a larger 1/2” ISOCELL GN8 sensor and a brighter f/2.6 aperture for better light capture. It still manages to squeeze in a 5x zoom despite the massive sensor size.
Like the smaller Pro, the Pro Max is IP68-rated. But interestingly, they’re built differently – the 17 Pro can survive dives up to 4 metres in fresh water, while the Pro Max is rated for up to 6 metres.
Pricing and Availability
Pricing for the new Xiaomi 17 series starts at CNY4,499 (~RM2,662) for the standard model. The Xiaomi 17 Pro starts at CNY4,999 (~RM2,958), and the Pro Max kicks off at CNY5,999 (~RM3,549).
At the time of writing, Xiaomi hasn’t announced when (or if) these phones will make their way to Malaysia or other global markets – but we’ll be keeping an eye out.