Xiaomi 17 Pro: Manufacturer shows back with "Magic Back Screen"

The Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi only announced on Monday that it would be naming the new smartphone generation Xiaomi 17 rather than Xiaomi 16 to emphasize that it wanted to compete directly with Apple's iPhone 17. Now the manufacturer is following up with a look at the back of the Pro versions, which have a secondary screen.

In a teaser video published by the manufacturer on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, Xiaomi presents the rear of the Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. The smartphones are characterized by a bold innovation: They have a second display on the back, which is built around the camera element in the upper area. It is reminiscent of the external display on the flip phones from Motorola and Samsung.

Magic Back Screen

Xiaomi calls the rear screen the "Magic Back Screen" on which several functions can apparently be carried out. The teaser clip suggests that the screen can be used to display a clock with different clock faces, for example. It can apparently also be used as a selfie viewfinder for the rear cameras. Users also seem to be able to use the display to show app information and colorful designs.

The Xiaomi 17 Pro models are not the first models from the manufacturer to have a rear screen on board. The Mi 11 Ultra already had such a feature. However, the display of the device released in 2021 was only equipped with a small 1.1-inch AMOLED display. The screen of the 17 series is visibly larger.

Xiaomi 17 Pro with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Whether the rear-facing display is the only new trick for Xiaomi's 17 series remains to be seen. However, Xiaomi's president said that they want to bring some other "new things" to smartphones. Among other things, Xiaomi also seems to want to show off with larger batteries. According to a well-known leaker, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max will have a considerable 7500 mAh on board.

Meanwhile, it is certain that Xiaomi's new high-end smartphone generation will be equipped with Qualcomm's new top chip called Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. This is not a big surprise, as Xiaomi's top smartphones were also among the first models to be equipped with the latest processors from the US chip developer in previous years.

Xiaomi's 17 series is set to be unveiled in September and will initially be launched in China. A European launch for the devices is probably still a few months away: The last generations of Xiaomi's top league always appeared in Europe with a delay of several months. Accordingly, the 17 series is not expected to be available in this country until 2026.

(afl)