16 series canceled: Xiaomi wants to compete against the iPhone 17 with 17 series

Actually, 15 is followed by 16, but Xiaomi is ticking differently this year: instead of presenting the expected Xiaomi 16 series, the company wants to unveil the Xiaomi 17 series in September. The aim is to compete more clearly with the iPhone 17.

First models with new Snapdragon Elite chip

Xiaomi President Lu Weibing announced the generational leap on Weibo. According to Weibing, the Xiaomi 17 series marks the most important milestone in the company's five-year history in the premium smartphone market. It will be released one month earlier than the previous generation. Last year, Xiaomi launched the 14 series for the Chinese market shortly after the Snapdragon 8 Elite was unveiled in October. The devices only came to Europe in March 2025.

According to him, the entire product range will be updated across generations. The "Mi 17 series" comprises three products: Mi 17, Mi 17 Pro, Mi 17 Pro Max. Interestingly, he did not mention the Ultra model, which previously represented the spearhead of the model series. Xiaomi might have also taken its cue from Apple with the model names.

The new models will be the first in the world to be based on Qualcomm's fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Extreme Edition. This new chip will be presented by Qualcomm at the end of September.

The Xiaomi manager explained in his Weibo post that the company has refined its premium strategy over the past five years and invested heavily in research and development. These investments would be doubled in the next five years. He added that the 17 Pro Max would be Xiaomi's most powerful flagship to date.

Away from the underlying technology of the devices, Xiaomi plans to bring some other "new things" to smartphones, "otherwise you might think that the current mobile products are a bit boring," the manager concluded his post.

Xiaomi 17: Huge batteries expected

According to initial leaks and reports, the new Xiaomi ultra-high-end model will have a revised design of the camera element on the back, which should stand out from previous generations. Instead of a round camera, it could look similar to that of the iPhone 17 Pro (Max), but have an integrated small display.

A massive leap in the built-in batteries is also expected: The Xiaomi 17, previously doing the rounds in leaker circles as the Xiaomi 16, is said to house a 7000 mAh battery in its body with a fairly compact 6.3-inch screen. The Max model is even expected to have a 7500 mAh battery, while the smaller Pro is said to have a 6300 mAh battery. These figures refer to the Chinese market; in Europe and other countries, they may be slightly lower for regulatory reasons.

(afl)