Xiaomi 17 Ultra Review: A Balancing Act

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Xiaomi’s flagship range of phones is here and, although we don’t get the fancy Pro models with a rear display in the West, the Ultra once again aims to be the best camera phone on the market.

The device launches in a slightly different format this year, with both an Ultra and a new model called the ‘Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi’. The latter is an even higher-end handset, leaving the 17 Ultra as a more ‘standard’ Ultra option.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is still co-developed with Leica and is one of the main alternatives to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Oppo Find X9 Ultra.

Design & Build

• Less camera, more phone
• New colours
• Thinner and lighter

While the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has a familiar look and feel to its predecessors, there are subtle changes that make it feel more like a regular phone and less like a camera – primarily the move to flat sides and back.

There’s also no vegan leather on the back and no colored ring highlighting the (still huge) camera module. The colorways are also more in keeping with wider market trends and I quite like the Starlit Green model I have – with a stylish, not cheesy, glittery finish.

By the way, last year’s model was the 15 Ultra, as Xiaomi skipped 16 in order to match the iPhone generation number and appear more current.

It’s also thinner and lighter than the 15 Ultra at 8.4mm (over 1mm thinner) and 218.4g (or 219g if you go for the green color option), compared to almost 230g.

Other subtle changes include new volume buttons, which are separate and round. I wasn’t so sure about these at first, but I got used to them quickly.

There’s not much else to talk about in terms of standout design features – mainly just its materials and IP68/69 rating.

Like many phones, the frame is aluminum, but instead of a glass back, it’s made from composite fiberglass, which Xiaomi says is drop-proof. It feels nice to the touch, but the phone sounds a bit cheap and hollow if you tap the back with your finger.

It’s perhaps a little curious that Xiaomi hasn’t added any other buttons to the device when so many rivals have some kind of quick setting button or camera button, or both. I assume this is to make you more likely to buy one of the photography kits (more on those later).

Screen & Speakers

• Flat 6.9-inch display
• Brighter but a lower resolution
• Awesome audio

The screen on the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is similar to its predecessors, but there are a few key differences.

After two generations of the ‘All Around Liquid Display’, Xiaomi has switched to a more traditional flat panel. This is a shame as I really liked the best of both worlds experience of the previous models – a flat panel with curved glass on top.

Nevertheless, the 17 Ultra’s screen remains impressive if you like big, bold panels. It’s even larger at 6.9-inch, even brighter at a peak of 3500 nits and it’s covered in new Xiaomi Shield Glass 3.0.

It also keeps features such as the 1-120Hz refresh rate, 12bit color depth, and both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support. There’s a slight drop in resolution to 2608 x 1200, but it’s still crisp enough for my liking at 416ppi. If you must have a QHD+ screen, this could be a deal-breaker.

For me, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is a solid all-rounder in this area. It’s nothing special (it can’t compare to the S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display), but it does the job and that lower resolution is likely helping with the excellent battery life – more on that later. If big and bold is what you want, this is it.

Elsewhere in this area, the ultrasonic fingerprint scanner works very well indeed and the face scanning is serviceable too if that’s something you prefer (although you should bear in mind that it’s less secure).

Stereo speakers – the typical setup of one next to the USB port and the other using the earpiece – are once again excellent, offering clear and crisp audio with a rich tone even at higher volume levels.