Xiaomi has officially debuted its newest flagship lineup to the global stage – the Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Ultra, ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The launch marks the first international rollout of the series outside China, where the four‑device family debuted in September 2025 and quickly crossed one million units sold in its first week. For the global market, Xiaomi is focusing on the standard Xiaomi 17 and the camera‑centric Xiaomi 17 Ultra as the brand’s new top‑tier Android flagships.
Flagship specs and design
The Xiaomi 17 arrives globally with a compact 6.3‑inch LTPO AMOLED display, 120 Hz refresh rate, and up to 3500 nits of peak brightness, tuned for smooth scrolling and vivid outdoor visibility. Under the hood it runs Android 16 layered with HyperOS 3.0, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage.
Its triple‑rear 50MP Leica‑tuned camera system is composed of a wide main, ultrawide, and telephoto unit and delivers a balanced imaging setup, while a 50 MP front camera supports high‑resolution selfies and 4K video recording. The Xiaomi 17 boasts an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, and the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has an IP68/69 rating.
Ultra‑focused camera flagship
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra steps up as a dedicated photography powerhouse, featuring a 6.9‑inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and 3500 nits peak brightness, plus IP68/
IP69 water and dust resistance for daily durability.
It also runs Android 16 with HyperOS 3.0 on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and offers configurations up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The triple‑rear camera system uses a 50MP main sensor alongside a 200MP periscope telephoto lens offering continuous optical zoom, and a 50 MP ultrawide unit for versatile shooting in both daylight and low‑light conditions.
The telephoto lens uses the Leica APO optical lens design, which involves 3 custom glass material lenses to reduce chromatic aberration at the hardware level. Colors converge at the same point of focus which takes out color fringing and allows for sharper, more accurate images. The lens also significantly reduces purple and green fringing, even in high-contrast telephoto images.
Global variants, battery, and pricing
For global markets, Xiaomi is adjusting the internals slightly compared with the Chinese models. The global Xiaomi 17 packs a 6,330mAh silicon‑carbon battery, down from the 7,000mAh from the China version, while still supporting 100W wired and 50W wireless charging.
The global Xiaomi 17 Ultra similarly sees its battery capacity down to 6,000mAh from 6,800mAh, but retains high‑speed HyperCharge capabilities at 90W and 50W, respectively, as well as reverse‑charging features.
The Xiaomi 17 is priced starting at EUR 999, while the Xiaomi 17 Ultra starts at EUR 1,499.
Specifications
| Xiaomi 17 | Xiaomi 17 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.3-inch 1220 x 2656 LTPO AMOLED, 120 Hz, 3500 nits peak | 6.9-inch 1200 x 2608 LTPO AMOLED, 120 Hz, 3500 nits peak |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| RAM | up to 12GB | up to 16GB |
| Storage | 512GB | 1TB |
| Rear Camera | 50MP main (OIS) 50MP ultrawide 50MP telephoto (OIS) | 50MP main (OIS) 200MP periscope telephoto (OIS) 50MP ultrawide TOF 3D |
| Front Camera | 50MP, 4K video | 50MP |
| Battery | 6,330mAh 100W wired 50W wireless | 6,000mAh, 90W wired 50W wireless |
| OS | Android 16 with HyperOS 3.0 | Android 16 with HyperOS 3.0 |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What processor do the Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra use?
A: Both models run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 octa‑core chipset, paired with Android 16 and HyperOS 3.0.
Q: How does the camera system differ between the two models?
A: The Xiaomi 17 uses a triple 50 MP Leica‑tuned setup with wide, ultrawide, and telephoto lenses, while the Xiaomi 17 Ultra adds a 200 MP periscope telephoto lens with continuous optical zoom and a larger 1‑inch‑type sensor for higher‑end photography.
Q: Are the global batteries smaller than the Chinese versions?
A: Yes; the global Xiaomi 17 comes with a 6,330mAh cell versus 7,000mAh in China, and the global Xiaomi 17 Ultra uses a 6,000mAh battery instead of the 6,800mAh Chinese unit, while retaining fast wired and wireless charging support.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
