Xiaomi Phone Camera Review: Monster Specs

While the competition this year experimented with fine-tuning bendable displays or anti-view displays, Xiaomi’s strategy for 2026 remained precise: they wanted to create a brutal imaging device that would make even professional photographers think about selling their SLRs. Of course, a sane photographer will not exceed this, yet the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has become a concrete demonstration of technological power, which is the most ripe fruit of the collaboration between Xiaomi and Leica so far; and which pushes the limits of physics with huge sensors and optical perfection. Although the Honor Magic8 Pro, Vivo X300 Pro and Oppo Find X9 Pro are breathing down their necks as serious opponents, the 17 Ultra entered the market with a confidence that is rarely seen.

These days, we no longer see world-changing innovations in high-end phones every year, and the same is true for Xiaomi’s exteriors, at least at first glance. However, whoever picks up the 17 Ultra immediately feels that this mobile phone is in a different league. The weight of 224 grams and the display size of 6.9 inches command authority to say the least – it is a real monster that almost needs to be tamed with two hands. This year, Xiaomi boldly experimented with the use of materials: we had the green variant, the back of which was made of shimmering fiberglass material. Although it is technically a type of plastic, its touch and the stiffness of the matte metal frame create a premium feeling that easily competes with glass. The device is of course dust and water resistant, it has received the IP69 certification, and according to the manufacturer, it even tolerates high-pressure water jets with an unshaken face.

However, the ergonomics hold surprises. Xiaomi has finally abandoned curved edges at all costs, so the 17 Ultra is the first model in the series to have a completely flat display. The gaps around the display are almost invisible, and the screen-to-body ratio of over 92 percent provides a visual experience as if we were holding only the content in our hands. At the same time, it is impossible not to note that the device is incredibly heavy, the camera monster on the back noticeably pulls the mobile down, so it is worth holding it steady.

A display that blinds you

In the box of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, in addition to the mandatory ones (USB-C cable, SIM pin), we also do not find a network adapter this time, which is not surprising in light of the 2026 EU regulations; however, there is also a pre-installed screen protector and a transparent plastic case. And speaking of the display, the 6.9-inch panel breaks with previous Ultra tradition and offers a slightly lower, but still well over 400 ppi, resolution of 1200 x 2608 pixels. In practice, this is not at all disturbing, but in return the efficiency has improved a lot. Dynamic LTPO technology varies the image refresh rate between 1 and 120 hertz, and also supports all existing HDR standards.

However, the real weapon of the panel is the brightness, the device achieves the maximum brightness of 3,500 nits promised by Xiaomi without any problems, which is a brutal value. This means that you don’t have to squint in the midday sun or even in the middle of a desert: the content always remains crystal clear and easy to read. The display is protected by the Xiaomi Shield Glass 3.0, which provides excellent protection against everyday scratches, but it is still not worth getting close friends with a set of keys. The 2160 hertz PWM dimming takes care of the eyes, so the display’s vibration does not cause headaches even for those who are sensitive to it.

The ultrasonic fingerprint reader built into the bottom of the display is responsible for biometric identification, which does its job excellently and lightning fast – during the more than two-week test period, we didn’t have a single problem with it.

Brutal performance, good heat dissipation

Under the hood, of course, the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 roars, which was accompanied by no less than 16 gigabytes of memory in our test device. Xiaomi’s engineers apparently worked a lot on heat dissipation, because while other high-end mobile phones tend to “throttling” (i.e. reducing performance due to overheating), the 17 Ultra remained surprisingly stable. In synthetic tests, the performance of the CPU beat even the iPhone 17 Pro and the ticking A19 Pro chip in it, and in terms of gaming, it is guaranteed that all Android games can be run at the highest available graphics settings.

In terms of software, we get Android 16 and HyperOS 3, which is no surprise – it brings the obligatory. Of course, it does this excellently, the interface is fast, the animations are smooth, and the HyperAI functions are useful. As we wrote in our review of the Xiaomi 15T Pro, of course Hyper Island appeared here as well, as well as cooperation with Apple devices reached a completely new level.

As for the operating time, well, not everything is so bright in this area. As is known, while the model intended for the Chinese market received a brutal 6,800 mAh battery, the European version has to make do with a 6,000 mAh battery. While that’s still a significant improvement over its predecessor, the 800 milliamp-hour deficit hurts to see. In practice, with this capacity, with mixed use, we achieved approximately 8-9 hours of screen time with a single charge, which is no longer outstanding compared to this year’s top models. Wired charging is supported up to 90 watts, which is strange considering that the smaller and cheaper Xiaomi 17 can be charged with up to 100 watts. Wireless charging is supported up to 50 watts, and using the Xiaomi 17 Ultra as a power bank, you can charge other devices with 25.5 watts.

In addition to all this, however, the phone’s sound system also deserves a mention: in addition to the balanced mids and highs, we also get quite a bit of bass, which is as rare as a white raven in the smartphone field. In the wireless field, the European version already uses the Bluetooth 6.0 standard, while the Chinese model remains at 5.4 – this seems like a small thing, but it is an important difference from the point of view of future-proofing.

A one-inch sensor with a little magic

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra’s Summilux camera system, co-developed with Leica, is what makes this phone a “monster”. The heart of the 50-megapixel main camera is a one-inch Omnivision sensor, which, thanks to LOFIC technology, offers a dynamic range previously only available with professional cameras. The sensor, marketed under the name “Light Hunter 1050L”, shows its power especially in high-contrast scenes – where blinding lights and deep shadows are present at the same time. The detail is impressive even at night, and the noise filter does not wash out the textures, preserving the natural nature of the photos.

This year’s real highlight, however, is Leica’s APO-certified 200-megapixel telephoto camera. It is the first smartphone camera to receive this certification, which means almost complete elimination of chromatic aberration (i.e. color deviation). With the help of the optics consisting of three special glass lenses, you can also zoom in the range between 75 and 100 millimeters without loss of quality. In practice, this means that between 3.2x and 4.3x magnification, the lenses of the telephoto camera physically move away from each other or get closer to each other, which we can see for ourselves if we turn the device over. Of course, this does not change the world in everyday life, but at the same time we are talking about a nice function.

On the video front, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra can record in 8K at up to 30 frames per second with all of its cameras, but real content producers will really appreciate the 4K@120fps and Dolby Vision recordings. Thanks to the large sensor, videos have a natural bokeh effect, and night shots are clearer than any current competitor. Our only criticism would be the color fidelity of the software: the “Leica Vibrant” mode sometimes pushes the blue tones too far, resulting in an unnaturally vibrant sky – although that’s exactly what some people are looking for. And if someone doesn’t like that, there’s still the Leica Authentic image style, which, true to its name, captures in a more authentic color range.

In summary

The biggest strength of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is undoubtedly its camera range, but it also excels in other areas. The flat display, 3,500 nits of brightness and Leica APO-certified lenses make for a package that’s hard to beat. Although the lack of 100-watt charging is strange, and the battery of the European version is smaller than the Chinese one, these are dwarfed by the experiences provided by the main and telephoto cameras.

What is especially interesting is that Xiaomi was also able to remain competitive in terms of pricing. While the newly introduced Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at HUF 600,000, the manufacturer has set the starting price of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra at HUF 500,000, and with the exception of the world’s first privacy display, the latter offers more than the South Korean competitor in almost every area. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is available here in black and green, we had the latter variant.

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