Xiaomi 17 Ultra Review: The New Gold Standard for Camera Purists

The new wave of a smartphone camera can be used to raise the bar for what ‘the next big thing’ is that Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which has been adding up the company’s Ultra portfolio. It was a start to ‘put up for camera purist smartphone range,’ and since then we have had another iteration every year Xiaomi 13 Ultra in 2023, Xiaomi 14 Ultra (in 2024), Xiaomi 15 Ultra last year. And, with 17 Ultra launch, 2026 is no different.

Xiaomi 17 range, which has been on sale since last month and reached Indian shores fast after being announced globally at MWC 2026, is a short-lived product of the brand. During Rs., . The Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which is aimed at camera enthusiasts, has also launched the photography kit Pro (which comes separately) and had its device hardware failed to attract customers.

I have covered all the Ultras from Xiaomi’s house. The 17 Ultra is a very different price point for me, but this is because of memory chip shortage situation that has led to prices on elated side overall across devices. The big question here is, if you’re in the market and want to buy a camera-focused smartphone. Should I get the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with its added bells and whistles? Time to answer that in my review?

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Design and Display: Thinnest Ultra Yet Combined With Superb Display

• 162.9×77.6×8.3mm and 224 grams
• IP68 dust and water-resistant
• Aluminium frame and Aerospace-grade glass fibre back

Despite the fact that Xiaomi’s Ultra range has more or less been followed by the same camera deco design at the back, it is easier for people to recognise them. It follows the classic style a large camera deco at the back of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which is the biggest hint that this is ‘a camera-focused smartphone’.

The camera deco has a sophisticated R-angle, and the entire placement of its camera is micro-curved to allow for natural design flow.

Xiaomi is the first club to join in a world where most smartphone manufacturers, such as Apple, Samsung and others, have switched to flat design phones. It is a good fit for Xiaomi’s classic design of the Ultra, with flat back and its timeless style. It is the China variant of the 17 Ultra with a rotating camera deco; however, globally it has Leica phone and not regular Ultra model.

Unlike the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, 17 ultra removes the dual-tone design that was heavily inspired by Leica DSLRs. The dual-tone design is surprisingly reserved for Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition, which will not be available in India.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the thinnest Ultra model yet and measures just 8.29mm

Considering that the 17 Ultra is the thinnest and lightiest Ultra smartphone yet from Xiaomi’s home, talking about it. And that’s a story about Xiaomi refining the overall design of its best smartphone, and that is what it says to you. The 17 Ultra’s all-flat body makes it the league of other flat-body smartphones such as the iPhone 17 Pro series and Samsung Galaxy S26 series.

The camera deco has been improved even to the extent that a slight reposition of its own image, including. But the new camera deco is less intrusive and seems thoughtful to position it this way to give better grip on a new one. It is available in Black and White smartphone, which is also available for purchase in India under the name of . This is the review of Gadgets 360 (the latter was a part of our review), but we would have really loved to see the Starlit Green come to India. I saw it at the international launch in Spain ahead of MWC 2026 and looked stunning, especially compared to the Black and White colours. The phone is also available in a purple colourway but has only been sold to that market in China, as does the Chinese .

The camera module on the 17 Ultra has been redesigned, reduced, and repositioned

It has also worked to maintain the 17 Ultra long-lasting durability, and Xiaomi Guardian Structure is one of those examples. Additionally it is a recipient of Xiaomi Shield Glass 3 from its . According to the company, drop resistance of 0, which provides 30 percent better than that of 15 Ultra. The 17 Ultra’s back has high-strength fibreglass panel, which you will never realise until you hold the device in your hand. The back of the phone remains largely cool, thanks to its material. This phone features a frame of aluminium alloy and IP68 for dust and water resistance. Similarly, the phone also has a 3D Dual-Channel IceLoop system to keep things cool. This is a SIM card tray in the bottom panel; it has dual Sims (one physical sim, one other ESIM), and supports dual SIMs. On the bottom panel there’s a Type C port and – as well, if any — speaker grille. All of the physical toggles for volume rockers and power are located in the right panel. Volume rockers have an extremely cool, a design that adds to the character of the device.

The display is bright and delivers accurate colours, deep contrast, and true HDR

In 2026, no less than any flagship smartphone will you see on the display front of Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra. with an 8. The 17 Ultra is a 9-inch LTPO AMOLED display with 3500nits of peak brightness, 120Hz refresh rate and 1200×2608-pixel screen resolution with 416 PPI pixel density. Two things that are important here is an increase in overall display size compared to the 15 Ultra, which had 6 inches of displays. A slight drop in display resolution, a decline from 522PPI on the predecessor, and 73-inch display.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has an impressive display (blue) colourful, accurate colours that pop, deep contrast and true HDR in real life. I think the smartphone is a good fit, from binge-watching to multimedia use. I am unable to say that the 17 Ultra left me wanting more for a phone built for camera use.

Xiaomi has used a custom M10 display panel on the 17 Ultra

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Camera: A Mechanical Marvel

• 50-megapixel main sensor with f/1.7 aperture, PDAF and OIS
• 200-megapixel telephoto sensor with 4.3x optical zoom
• 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor with PDAF
• 50-megapixel selfie camera

Xiaomi’s cameras are going all in with the 17 Ultra, whether it is that one-inch sensor (headlining) or telephoto sensor which provides continuous zoom for a 75mm to 100mm range – more flexible than its predecessor.

The device gets the Leica camera system engineered into it

Whether it’s about daylight photos, the 17 Ultra is an expert in all departments from details to texture to natural colours. A phone keeps dynamic range in check and takes better photos than some of the competition devices at this price point. Unless you’re in daylight or well-lit areas of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, you will get great photos with lots of detail and crisp colours.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Daylight Samples with Main Camera

But the 17 Ultra manages those quickly as well, jumping to slightly zoomed shots. The quality of 2x shots was almost zero and I loved them all the time. The device nailing the shots, whether it’s the Eiffel Tower without the Sun, a far shot of the clock tower or Mario toys outside an eatery (see below) is shown in some samples. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra carries all shots with absolute precision, colours are correct and accurate enough details.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Zoom Camera Samples

This is a major strength of the 17 Ultra’s telephoto sensor, which works in many situations (including portraits) and other applications. The 3. It’s a fun fact that even the 4x shots are absolutely stunning and 2X shots come out completely gorgeous.” 3x shots as crisp are 3 x, s. With the new continuous zoom telephoto setup that the phone receives, 2x thanks to the newly introduced continuous Zoom Telephoto. This is a great combination for both Xiaomi and Leica, which has done.

Captured at 8.6x with Xiaomi 17 Ultra

Another Zoom camera sample from the Xiaomi 17 Ultra

Xiaomi’s excellent setup is a great example of the 17 Ultra, which impresses with its impressive performance as well as being used to make it into the ultrawide camera. Colours are good, and the dynamic range is great.’ The phone has a well-developed handling of colours as well as an excellent sense of colour in its own right? The contrast is nice colour rendering; white balance, largely correct, is good for colour. Some examples of s below for your reference.

Ultrawide Camera Samples (above)

Xiaomi 17 Ultra – Portrait Camera Samples

I took samples of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, and even the portraits feel effortless. That’s one Achilles’ heel of the device so that macro shots aren’t as good as I got with the 15 Ultra, but they don’T get any better.

For Macro Shots, the 17 Ultra isn’t as versatile as the 15 Ultra

I’m a Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which gets LOFIC to improve low-light photos and was left wanting for more. How can I explain LOFIC? Well, unlike HDR which stacks multiple photos that may cause motion blur, LOSFIA captures a large dynamic range in one exposure. This allows the phone to handle very hard lighting conditions such as a sunset or ‘no neon sign at night’, without losing detail in either the deepest shadows or the brightest highlights. That gave the idea of a great low-light performance, with lots to be seen and good dynamic ranges as well as good retention of highlights. But even the skin tones are natural in very difficult lighting conditions, so that’s what is best. Sadly in dark, I noticed that colours were muted because the light source was limited and so did not appear to be as clear as they were.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Low-Light Camera Samples

Even the indoor shots with Xiaomi 17 Ultra come out really well

But the 17 Ultra is also a big bump for selfies, with an added 50-megapixel camera instead of its 32 MP sensor on 16 ultra’s digital 15 Ultra. Now it is a self focus camera and makes some amazing selfies with good skin tones. The 17 Ultra can record up to 8K 30fps on all rear cameras talking about videos, while the front camera will record 4K at 60fpms. good news is that there’s Dolby Vision support and spatial audio capability. A video recorded on the 17 Ultra’s main camera is a good quality during daytime, with correct colour and sharpness as well as dynamic range. But when using other sensors, the quality is not as crisp. Compared to daylight videos, low-light video quality is also hit.

It gets the Leica 50-megapixel 1-inch ultra-dynamic sensor with LOFIC HDR

Photography Kit

To convert the Xiaomi 17 Ultra into a full-on camera rig for long shoots, you should buy the kit separately sold. Pro photography grip (lanyard), 67mm filter adapter ring, detachable physical shutter button and magnetic slim protective case are all provided. No dedicated lens kit with the 17 Ultra, of course, because the phone itself is pretty capable (no pun intended) and no one has a camera.

In general, if you like to take photos, then Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the absolute gem of a device. Whether street photography, landscape photography or any other difficult lighting condition is the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. A huge camera, a great deal of it across the board.’ is amazing at his main camera.

The camera UI is a familiar one, and there are plenty of shooting modes and options baked in

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Performance: Strictly Ultra

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3nm)
• 16GB RAM + 512GB Storage
• HyperOS 3.0 based on Android 16
• Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor

Android flagships are largely versatile, especially packed with capable cameras and can be easily used as examples of how to make the most of these devices available under Xiaomi 17 Ultra. The 17 Ultra, meanwhile, out of the park with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC under the hood, is performing better than it was in the past. It can absolutely nail day-to-day performance,’ . But the 17 Ultra is a strong contender, even for gaming, which can manage several hours without sweating. Our test of the 17 Ultra was a success for us in our series of synthetic benchmark tests, and you can see below the scores.

| Benchmarks | Xiaomi 17 Ultra | Galaxy S26 Ultra | iPhone 17 Pro Max |
| — | — | — | — |
| Display resolution | 1.5K | QHD+ | 1,320 x 2,868 pixels |
| Chipset | SD 8 Elite Gen 5 (3nm) | SD 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (3nm) | Apple A19 Pro |
| AnTuTu v10 | 34,36,995 | 37,61,149 | 23,95,000 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 16,469 | 20,273 | NA |
| Geekbench 6 Single | 3497 | 3,675 | 3,484 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi | 10,352 | 10,846 | 9,080 |
| Geekbench AI CPU (Quantized) | 3,055 | 6,913 | NA |
| Geekbench AI GPU (Quantized) | 4,244 | 4,004 | NA |
| 3DM Wild Life | Maxed Out | Maxed Out | Maxed Out |
| 3DM Wild Life Unlimited | 23,916 | 30,069 | NA |
| 3DM Steel Nomad Light | 2,201 | 2,794 | NA |

Xiaomi notes that more than 100 system-wide animations have been refined for a more fluid look, and the 17 Ultra receives sophisticated animation when talking about HyperOS 3 as it discusses with its own source of information. Similarly, there’s HyperISISland, Xiaomi’S replica of Dynamic Island, which alerts you when it’re plugged in for charging, when the timer is on, calendar and other system notifications. The new UI also provides neat AI Cinematic Lock Screen and AI Dynamic Wallpapers that can turn your own photos into stunning cinematic images. HyperOS 3 also offers a number of home screen customisation options for Hyper OS 3. AI also receives features such as Smart screen recognition, which automatically generates captions for the new UI; DeepThink mode that creates thoughtful insights and high quality content in Notes (a real time/ summarises quickly), AI Speech Recognition and other features like AI speech Recognition, AI Search,AI Translate or AI Interpreter who can simultaneously interpret calls.

It gets Dolby Atmos stereo speakers and features like AI noise reduction for clearer calls and sound output

If HyperOS 3 has one core feature, what’s that? It’s really a better version of 0, it’ll support cross-ecosystems (especially with Apple devices) and is certainly more improved. This new Touch to share feature on the 17 Ultra is also available for Apple devices and has an all-new Touch, which works with iPhone devices. Another highlight of the phone is its haptic feedback on the 17 Ultra, which has made gaming and other experiences more enjoyable. Speakers, however, don’t seem that great — with clear clarity at 100% volume (for songs or dialogues) in any OTT series in the case of “the speakers” do not appear to be so great. I think the speaker setup of a phone is good and best at 70% or less volume, according to . The ultrasonic fingerprint scanner works perfectly, and I didn’t experience any problems while using it. Snappy Even the face unlock is snappY even after being smashed into the lock.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Battery: Meets Expectations

• 6000mAh battery
• 90W wired HyperCharge
• 50W wireless HyperCharge

Upon looking at the original spec sheet, one of the specs that I was initially disappointed by was the size of battery. A 6800mAh battery is used in China for the 17 Ultra; 6000mAh unit is available here in India. In everyday life, however it impresses the battery proving that higher number does not always mean longer battery standby time.

The phone can fully charge (0 to 100%) within 45 minutes, which is impressive

I had used the camera for about 2 hours, watched a full show (about 4 hours) with multiple episodes of video and played BGMI for an hour; did my daily work tasks on Outlook, Gmail, Slack and other apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, X Reddit and more. The phone lasts for more than a day with medium to light use, and can be used by . This is tad faster than the 15 Ultra, which can fully charge in less then 45 minutes with 90W fast charging. Also, it receives 50W wireless charging for its paraphrara.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra gets IP66 + IP68 + IP69 rating

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Verdict

A few Ultra devices in the Indian market are currently under a single brand name, such as the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. The majority of Ultra devices at this stage are only available in the Chinese market and will be able to reach Indian shores after just a few weeks. The 17 Ultra is one of the solid packages, with an absolutely fantastic camera setup, outstanding raw performance and a good battery. The phone says it will give 5 years of OS updates and 6 years security updates on the software front, impressive for a flagship. Despite this, it still stands below the likes of Pixels and Galaxy smartphones. One of the 17 Ultra’s greatest strengths is that it has a camera, and anyone looking for if they want.

In India, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has been launched at Rs. It costs the same as Android flagships in the market, and is priced at 139,999 for its price tag. based on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is available at Rs. It is a good performance performance (139,999 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage) but not as prowessing as the 17 Ultra. Afterward, there is Google Pixel 10 Pro XL which offers an unmatched software experience and retails at Rs. 124,999999 ‘It is a that has been said to have never been used. Sadly there is the iPhone 17 Pro Max in the fray, perhaps the most expensive option at Rs. This is pretty solid for those who want to keep their phone afloat (3-5 years), but it’s 149,900.

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