Xiaomi 17 Ultra 512GB 16GB RAM – Global Version

Description

Display and Design
This is Xiaomi’s first Ultra phone with a completely flat display and flat vertical frame, ditching the curved edges that every previous Ultra model had. The phone measures 8.29mm thick and weighs 224g, making it the thinnest Ultra Xiaomi has ever made despite packing such a large battery. And we have been testing this guy for more than a week. This is one heck of a premium phone. The hands-on feel speaks to sturdiness and an elegant vibe. Just that the circular camera module is big, but you get used to it after a while. It’s rated IP66, IP68, and IP69 for dust and water resistance. So using it in this drizzly weather was never a problem. Moreover, the phone comes in Black, White, and Starlit Green.
For display, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has gone with the 6.9-inch LTPO OLED with 1.5K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The panel uses TCL’s M10 display technology with 12-bit color, peaks at 3,500 nits, and supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. And it is one of the best panels we have ever seen on a smartphone. It’s a visual treat with anything you do, be it watching movies, series, or endlessly scrolling. The display feels crisp and vibrant. And it is protected by Xiaomi Dragon Crystal Glass 3.0.

Performance
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra obviously runs on the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with Adreno 840 GPU. This chipset is already the best chipset you can get in any device, and it is also present in the entire Xiaomi 17 series lineup. Moreover, for memory, you get 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and either 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage. Of course, we tried all your favorite titles like PUBG, Genshin Impact, and Mobile Legends, and this guy handled them all well while staying relatively cool.

Camera System
The 17 Ultra packs a triple Leica rear camera setup. The main camera uses a 50MP 1-inch Light Fusion 1050L sensor with LOFIC ultra-high-dynamic-range technology. Similarly, the telephoto here is a 200MP periscope lens with a large 1/1.4-inch HPE sensor and continuous optical zoom from 75mm to 100mm, for a total zoom range of up to 400mm. It also supports a 30cm telephoto macro. Plus, you get an ultrawide with a 50MP sensor, a 115° field of view, and 5cm super macro support.
And in real life, this thing performs stellar. Switching between focal lengths with optical zoom quality (75mm to 100mm) feels satisfying. Portraits look pleasant and realistic too, giving a DSLR-like vibe. Photos from the main cameras look natural and have more depth in the background. Switching between lenses feels smooth and consistent, too.

Xiaomi has also included a ‘Fireworks Mode’ that uses AI scene recognition and adjusts exposure frame by frame in high-contrast lighting situations. For video recording, you can capture up to 8K@30fps, and the front camera is a 50MP OmniVision OV50M with 4K@60fps. And talking of the videos, Xiaomi has improved; the footage looks consistent, but it’s not that mind-blowing.

Battery and Charging
The 17 Ultra also gets a 6,000mAh battery with 90W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, and 22.5W reverse wired charging. It also supports the 90W PPS protocol. Battery life was just decent with 6-7 hours of SOT, nothing exceptional. But the support for the PPS protocol is pretty handy. Ugreen’s 100W charger can also charge it at a full speed.

Software and Other Features
The phone runs Android 16 with HyperOS 3.0. Which feels nice with lots of features. There are stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 with LHDC 5.0, NFC, an IR blaster, and USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort support. The 17 Ultra also includes a 3D ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor and an X-axis linear motor for haptics.

It also has an unusual integration with the Apple ecosystem. According to Xiaomi, you can now control a Xiaomi phone from an iPhone, mirror and control Apple devices like iPhone, iPad, and Mac from the Xiaomi phone, and enable two-way mirroring between Xiaomi devices. This is rare for an Android brand. Meanwhile, the Leica Edition also gets a dedicated security and privacy encryption chip plus BeiDou and TianTong dual-satellite communication.