Xiaomi is well-liked in India due to its competitively priced products. It recently launched the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, a flagship phone also called a phone with a built-in DSLR camera. This device is mainly designed for photography, featuring the world’s first Leica 1-inch sensor with LOFIC technology and the first 200MP continuous optical zoom, with the lens moving inside the phone like a DSLR. It is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and includes a large 6,000mAh battery with 100W fast charging. We’ve used it as our daily driver for weeks, and its other features are equally impressive. If you’re interested in a smartphone focused on photography, this review will help you decide if the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is worth buying. While it appears to have excellent specifications, we’ll first examine its design and display performance.
In This Article
Design and Display
We got the White variant of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra for the review. The White variant is the most visually appealing option in the series since it highlights the all-flat design more than any other colour. The choice of this colour enhances the visibility of the camera module’s intricacies, ensuring they are easily recognised. The black version of the gadget, on the other hand, tends to blend the camera module details with the body, making them less noticeable and harder to identify.
The white version is made of solid-colour composite fibreglass, which gives it a very deep, milky ceramic look. Compared to real ceramic, this stuff is much lighter and less prone to damage. The finish is matte and doesn’t reflect light, which makes it appear like polished stone. The white matte surface is also designed to prevent noticeable smudges, so it will seem clean and new all day long.
The Leica Camera Island has a distinctive high-contrast panda look that sets it apart from other camera designs. The nickel-anodised aluminium camera ring on the white model makes it look more attractive and also improves light reflection. Pairing it with a white body creates a look reminiscent of a professional Leica M-series lens, imparting a sophisticated and elegant appeal. Furthermore, the red highlights, including the gold-etched aperture details, stand out against the white backdrop. The colour makes these features more visible than they would be on darker camera models.
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The white version features a natural silver frame made from 6M42 aluminium alloy. Its shiny silver finish gives the product a slimmer appearance, despite being 8.29 mm thick. The power button on the left side is positioned for easy thumb access and has a textured, curved surface for a comfortable grip. Two distinct circular buttons labelled “+” and “-‘ provide intuitive volume control, differing from the typical long bar design. These volume buttons stand out with a mirror-like polished finish, contrasting sharply with the brushed silver frame.
The bottom of the phone serves as its command centre, featuring a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port that can handle data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps, a 90W wired HyperCharge connection for quick charging, and a DisplayPort output to connect to external displays. There’s also a primary speaker grille with precisely drilled holes to enhance the sound quality of the stereo speakers. Plus, it includes a dual SIM slot that can hold two nano-SIM cards and supports dual eSIM technology, offering great flexibility for your connectivity needs.
There are no visible cutouts for the IR blaster or additional speaker on the top edge of the gadget. The infrared sensor is discreetly hidden within the camera island, so it can work with the Mi Remote app without ruining the clean look. Similarly, the secondary speaker employs Sound-on-Display technology, emerging from a micro-slit on the display, eliminating the need for a visible speaker grille while preserving audio quality for media consumption.
The company additionally provided the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with a black leather photography kit that gives it a high-contrast, professional style that is similar to that of a limited-edition white Leica M-series with a black leather grip.
When you insert the phone into the kit, it transforms into a specialised photography setup with a total battery capacity of 6,000mAh plus an additional 2,000mAh. The Pro kit features high-quality, slip-resistant Black PU leather that not only looks professional but also offers a more polished experience. Its ergonomic hump design makes one-handed operation safe and comfortable, perfect for street photography. Instead of Bluetooth, the kit connects directly via a USB-C connector. This is especially helpful for street photography in India, as it eliminates shutter lag, allowing your 50MP 1-inch sensor to respond instantly when you press the button.
The 17 Ultra smartphone has an IP69 certification, which is higher than the regular IP68 rating. This rating highlights that the phone is quite resilient, able to handle powerful water jets under high pressure and temperature better than many others. It’s especially handy during bad weather, like heavy rain, and makes cleaning dust a breeze. Plus, with Shield Glass 3.0, it’s well protected against micro-scratches, even from rough materials like pocket sand, giving you extra peace of mind. These features help the phone last longer and be smoother to use overall.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra features a custom HyperRGB OLED display that significantly outperforms earlier models. It has a 6.9-inch flat screen with a resolution of 1.5K+ (2,608×1,200), a peak brightness of 3500 nits, a 12-bit colour depth allowing it to display up to 68 billion colours, and is protected by Xiaomi Shield Glass 3.0.
HyperRGB technology really boosts visual quality by improving sub-pixel clarity. This makes 4K animated videos and high-bitrate streams look even better. It helps textures appear more natural, so tiny details like skin pores and fabric weaves are easier to see. Overall, it creates a richer and more immersive viewing experience for everyone.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is great for outdoor use since its true RGB subpixel arrangement makes text easier to see. The screen also has an anti-reflective quality that cuts down on glare.
The display can easily dim down to just 1 nit for those relaxing low-light moments, helping you see clearly at night without harsh glare. Plus, it’s TÜV Rheinland-approved for hardware-level DC dimming, which means you’ll enjoy flicker-free, more comfortable viewing.
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The gadget can display 68.7 billion colours, which assists in combating colour banding in photos. The Original Color PRO option keeps colours true for those who love photography.
The refresh rate adaptability is enhanced with 1-120Hz LTPO technology, which dynamically adjusts the refresh rate according to the content, providing ultra-smooth visuals. Furthermore, a touch sampling rate of 300Hz guarantees that touch interactions, which are critical for photographic operations, are fast and lag-free. The wet touch technology improves usability by enabling the phone to distinguish between touch inputs and water drops, which is useful in monsoon conditions.
To better serve the Indian streaming market, Xiaomi has added software optimisations for popular services such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar. Key elements of these optimisations include adaptive HDR, which automatically changes tone mapping based on ambient lighting conditions to preserve shadow details.
Performance and Camera
At the core of this phone is the impressive Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 CPU, built with the latest 3nm manufacturing technology. It features a unique “2+6” core design, combining two high-performance Prime cores with six efficiency cores, enabling clock speeds of up to 4.6GHz. This offers some of the best smartphone performance available in India. Plus, with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, you can enjoy smooth multitasking and seamless app switching, so your favourite applications run effortlessly without any lag, making your experience truly enjoyable.
The gadget has UFS 4.1 storage, which is better than the UFS 4.0 standard that most flagship devices have. UFS 4.1 technology makes read/write speed faster, which is important for quickly moving big files.
This is especially important for transferring 8K video files and high-resolution Leica RAW images using a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connector, ensuring that transfers occur without delays.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is built for the best performance, especially in India’s climate. It has a new 3D Dual-Channel IceLoop capillary cooling system that improves thermal performance. This new cooling system is designed only for the camera module and chipset, which prevents them from getting hot enough to touch.
If you’re multitasking frequently, consider increasing your virtual RAM from 8GB to 16GB. While 16GB of physical RAM is generally sufficient, having more virtual memory can enhance performance during resource-intensive AI-driven photo edits in the gallery, enabling faster processing and smoother handling of large image files and complex editing tasks.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset really shines in the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, especially when it comes to gaming. It can run AAA games at 120 frames per second thanks to the Adreno GPU, and it stays smooth at 60 frames per second on the highest settings in Genshin Impact. It works best at 90 and 120 frames per second for games like BGMI and COD Mobile. The 300Hz touch sampling rate makes it even more responsive.
The device has HyperOS 3.0’s Game Turbo features, such as AI Resource Allocation, which speeds up the CPU in heavy frame situations to cut down on micro-stutters, and game-specific visuals like a Bright FPS filter that makes things easier to see in competitive settings. There is also a voice changer and many performance modes, such as Wild mode, which uses more battery power to get the most performance from the CPU.
Notably, the machine doesn’t show excessive throttling and keeps the screen brightness stable over long gaming sessions, ensuring clear visibility throughout gaming sessions.
Geekbench scores:
Single-core- 3561
Multi-core- 10706
The hardware on the device is excellent, but it is the software that truly makes it function. This is especially true with the use of HyperOS 3.0, which is based on Android 16 and the Liquid Glass design concept. The gadget has a smooth, rounded look, and the Super Island feature displays live activities like delivery statuses, music controls, and timers at the top of the screen.
Bloatware is a big problem for Xiaomi in India. But especially for the 17 Ultra model, which costs Rs 1,39,999, this model has a premium user experience, with features like GetApps notifications and the Glance lock screen turned off by default. It still has a few pre-installed applications, including Facebook and LinkedIn, but you can remove 95% of them. The Ultra series also aims to provide a distraction-free user experience by not including system-level advertisements. This approach means that there are no recommended app folders or ads in the file manager, which helps to create a Pro user experience.
The series has HyperAI features, such as the Circle to Search via Google integration and the AI Writing/Summarisation functions in the Notes app and Gmail.
Xiaomi’s 17 series has a comprehensive update policy, which means that users will receive 6 years of HyperOS upgrades, which are expected to last until around 2032. Furthermore, throughout this period, security updates will be provided every 90 days.
HyperOS 3.0 makes a lot of visual improvements, especially to the lock screen. The AI Cinematic Lock Screen feature uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s NPU to create a multi-layered image effect that makes the lock screen seem more appealing. This feature smartly separates subjects from backgrounds in wallpapers, which lets lock screen widgets use parallax technology to make things seem 3D. Users may also customise their experience by using different style filters to make things look better.
The Indian version features workstation capabilities, allowing you to use it like a desktop PC when connected to a 4K monitor. The user interface, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, includes a desktop-style taskbar and resizable windows. This ensures that everything runs smoothly without any latency. Xiaomi Interconnect also enables you to connect your Xiaomi devices effortlessly. As a result, transferring files to larger displays is easy, and the system scales appropriately to 4K at 60Hz, significantly improving display quality compared to older versions.
Now comes our favourite part of the review – the camera.
The camera’s 50MP primary sensor uses LOFIC technology, which gives it performance that’s on par with professional mirrorless cameras. The photos taken in daylight have an organic quality, with smooth textures and rich, true colours. They deliberately avoid the over-sharpened look that is common in other brands like iPhone or Samsung.
The camera also has two distinct Leica modes: Leica Authentic, which gives photos a traditional, sombre look with a little vignette, and Leica Vibrant, which is meant for eye-catching social media photos that still seem true to life. We mostly took pictures in the Leica Authentic setting since we liked how unique the pictures looked.
The camera is very good in low light, producing deep blacks and bright highlights while keeping the picture clean and free of grainy noise. This is why it is called the emperor of night photography.
The gadget features a 200 MP, 5x Samsung HPE periscope telephoto camera that employs a mechanical system to adjust internal lenses. It offers an optical zoom from 75mm (3.2x) to 100mm (4.3x), with moving glass elements to maintain excellent image quality at both zoom levels. The camera excels at portrait photography. The 75mm setting produces a natural bokeh effect that softly blurs the background, highlighting the subject, similar to traditional cameras. This makes it one of the top choices for smartphone portrait shots.
With a 50MP resolution and a 14mm focal length, the ultrawide lens has a wide 115° field of view. This lens is great for taking pictures of vast scenes like buildings and groups of people in confined areas. It also makes sure that the colours match those of the main lens.
The new telephoto lens requires a minimum distance of around 30 cm to get a sharp focus, making it suited for most photography needs. In comparison, the ultrawide lens is more versatile, letting users snap photographs as close as 5 cm.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is designed for mobile videography, and it is especially useful for professionals who need a lot of freedom in post-production. It can record in 8K at 30 frames per second (fps) and 4K at 120 fps. This means that users may clip an 8K video to 4K without sacrificing detail. The 4K 120fps recording with Dolby Vision improves slow motion and colour depth for amazing video quality. It lets you edit video in log format up to 4K 120 fps and gives you the most flexibility over colour grading with the Academy Colour Encoding System (ACES).
The device has specific video modes, including ShootSteady (2.8K at 60fps), which uses super-stabilisation like a gimbal but decreases the resolution to improve stabilisation. It also has Night Video (4K at 24fps) for good performance in low light while keeping a cinematic frame rate. The device offers a stunning 1080p resolution at 1920 fps for ultra-slow motion, allowing you to capture even the tiniest details with ease. Its audio capabilities are equally impressive, featuring a 4-mic array that pinpoints sound from a particular direction and follows the source, making your field recordings much clearer and more professional.
The Photography Kit Pro makes photography much more enjoyable by adding additional functions that make the camera easier to use and more useful. The kit comes with a grip that connects to the White 17 Ultra via USB-C. This gets rid of Bluetooth latency and makes it seem like you’re using a high-end point-and-shoot camera. The kit comes with physical controls, such as a two-stage shutter button for focusing with a half-press and shooting with a full press, a dedicated video button, and a customisable dial that gives you more control over different photographic settings.
This physical grip also supports your video recording by providing a stable hold for smooth panning shots and allowing you to effortlessly adjust the focus or exposure manually with the convenient custom dial. It helps reduce the jitter that often occurs when you tap to focus on the screen, making your filming experience smoother and more enjoyable.
The Pro Kit also comes with a 2,000 mAh battery that powers the kit and charges the phone while users are taking pictures for long periods of time. This feature means that users may keep taking pictures without worrying about running out of juice.
The kit is compatible with 67mm filters, so users can attach different kinds of filters, like neutral density (ND) filters for smooth, flowing water effects or circular polarisers (CPLs) for reducing reflections. This gives users the same flexibility as using a dedicated camera lens.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has significantly enhanced its selfie camera. It now has a high-performance 50MP sensor with dedicated autofocus (AF) instead of a 32MP fixed-focus sensor. This improvement changes the role of the front-facing camera from a simple tool to a useful production tool for content creators.
We’ve found that the new selfie camera does a wonderful job capturing realistic textures and better light, showing natural skin features without needing filters to smooth the skin. The sample photos clearly show the autofocus works smoothly, keeping everything in focus at various distances, including those tiny details like flyaway hairs. Plus, the improved edge detection in portrait mode creates a more natural bokeh effect and makes small details, like strands of hair, easier to see.
Videography features have also become a lot better. The front-facing camera can now shoot video at 4K 60fps in Dolby Vision, making it easy to integrate high-quality B-roll footage. The video teleprompter tool helps users maintain eye contact while reading from a script. Furthermore, advanced noise reduction technology utilises four microphones to make voices stand out against background noise. The front camera can now record 1080p slow motion at 120 frames per second and 4K time-lapse videos.
The phone has a powerful 6000mAh battery that will last a long time. The smartphone provides 8 to 9 hours of screen time. During an average workday, users can expect to have 30-40% battery life left, making it basically a day-and-a-half gadget.
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This grip acts as a backup battery and turns on automatically when the phone’s battery level drops below 20%. As a result, this new setup lets users film constantly at 4K quality and 120 frames per second without worrying about battery life.
The smartphone features 90W wired HyperCharge technology, which includes Surge P3 and Surge G3 processors designed to prevent overheating during charging. This allows the device to charge from 0% to 100% in approximately 45-50 minutes. Additionally, the phone supports 50W wireless charging, renowned for its speed while prioritising safety, even in high ambient temperatures. It also offers reverse charging, with 22.5W reverse wired charging via USB-C and 10W reverse wireless charging for compatible accessories such as earphones and smartwatches.
Verdict
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is primarily branded for its photography capabilities, but its gaming performance is better than that of many dedicated gaming phones. This model truly highlights its strength and versatility, especially when tackling demanding gaming tasks. Thanks to the innovative 3D Dual-Channel IceLoop technology, it performs so much better, even in India’s warm temperatures, which can challenge electronic devices. It’s a fantastic setup that ensures you get the best gaming experience no matter the conditions. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the best cooling system on the market, and the Photography Kit Pro’s tactile precision make this one of the most versatile flagships on the Indian market right now.
Pros
- The HyperRGB M10 panel is hitting a peak brightness of 3,500 nits.
- 200MP periscope lens with continuous optical zoom
- 4K 120fps Log (primary and telephoto lens)
- ACES support
- 50MP front camera with autofocus
- 6,000mAh Surge Battery
Cons
- Hefty price tag
- Heavy device
