Xiaomi 17 Pro and Pro Max: high-end models with rear display, massive batteries

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With the Xiaomi 17, 17 Pro and Pro Max, the Chinese manufacturer wants to compete against Apple's iPhone 17 series. Xiaomi President Lu Weibing said this in the run-up to the launch. This alone is also the reason the current Xiaomi 15 series is not followed by the 16 series: Xiaomi admitted to wanting to keep up with Apple's numbering with the generational leap. The new models have initially been presented for the Chinese market; a global launch will follow later. Xiaomi presented the 15T models for the global market just a few days ago.

Regardless of the marketing gimmick, the Chinese manufacturer's new models have a lot to offer: For example, the new models have Qualcomm's new top chip Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which shows Apple's current iPhone chips the tail lights in initial benchmarks, and massive batteries with up to 7,500 mAh. The Pro models also have a rear display on board, which is somewhat reminiscent of the external screens on flip phones and is intended to be used as a viewfinder for selfies, music playback controls, interactive widgets, and much more.

Xiaomi 17 Pro with "Dynamic Back Display"

It should be noted that Xiaomi's Mi 11 Ultra already had a screen on the back, but it was only 1.1 inches in size. However, the benefits of the predecessor were severely limited, although one could also question how useful such a feature is for the new Pro models apart from a viewfinder function for selfies. After all, you only have to turn the device around to access all the functions of a smartphone. Nevertheless, it is nice that the back can be converted into a kind of gameboy with a case.

The technical specifications of the rear display are nothing to sneeze at: The screen has a diagonal of 2.7 inches or 2.9 inches (on the Pro Max) and has a resolution of 904 x 572 or 976 x 596 pixels at a refresh rate of 120 Hz. It also supports DC dimming and is up to 3,500 cd/m² bright.

Bright screens, thick batteries

Otherwise, the two new Pro smartphones are largely identical except for their size. The smaller Pro model has a 6.3-inch LTPO display with a dynamic refresh rate of one to 120 hertz. The screen of the Pro Max measures 6.9 inches. Both can reach a brightness of up to 3500 cd/m².

The Pro and Pro Max weigh 192 g and 231 g respectively and are protected against dust and water in accordance with IP68. In terms of memory, up to 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1 TByte of UFS 4.1 storage space are on board.

The built-in batteries are massive: the Pro model has 6300 mAh and the Pro Max has an impressive 7500 mAh. Both support fast charging with 100 W via cable using the PPS charging protocol. Wireless charging via a proprietary charging station is possible with up to 50 W. Xiaomi has not revealed whether the devices support the new Qi2 charging standard, so we are not assuming this for the time being. It is uncertain whether Xiaomi will also offer the large batteries in Europe.

Three 50 MP cameras are integrated into the plateau on the back. They have the same wide-angle camera with f/1.67 aperture (LightFusion 950) and an ultra-wide-angle with f/2.4. There are differences in the telephoto zoom cameras: although both support five times optical magnification, the Pro Max has a larger sensor and a larger aperture of f/2.6 than the smaller Pro with f/3.0. This means that the Pro Max should cut a better figure for telephoto zoom photos in difficult lighting conditions. The selfie cam on the front has a 50 MP sensor.

Xiaomi 17 without rear display

Xiaomi has also added a basic model to the Pro series, which is a little more discreetly designed like Apple's basic iPhones, but its 6.3-inch display housing contains a huge 7000 mAh battery. However, the manufacturer has dispensed with the rear screen, but not with Qualcomm's new top chip.

Three 50 MP sensors are also integrated on the rear, where Xiaomi also uses its new LightFusion 950 sensor. All models come with Leica branding.

Global market launch: later

In China, the manufacturer is offering the Xiaomi 17 from 4499 yuan, which is equivalent to 540 euros. The Pro versions cost from 4999 and 5999 yuan in Xiaomi's home country, which is around 600 and 720 euros, respectively. However, the prices cannot be converted one-to-one, as was the case with the predecessors.

We can assume that the Xiaomi 17 will cost around 1000 Euro, similar to the Xiaomi 15, with the Pro versions costing correspondingly more. Xiaomi is not expected to communicate official prices for the domestic market until early 2026, as the manufacturer usually launches its top models in the first quarter of the year.

(afl)