Xiaomi 17 series
The Xiaomi 17 series is finally rolling out, and as someone who’s used Xiaomi flagships since their Mi 5, I have to say: this is the first lineup in ages that really caught my eye and okay, maybe had my credit card nervous. The 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max are honestly aiming to muscle in on the iPhone and Galaxy Ultra turf with something a bit bolder, a bit different, and a lot more battery. Like, “forgot you needed to charge last night? It’s cool, you have 7,000mAh+” different
Everyone’s been buzzing about the official launch date. In classic Xiaomi fashion, they've scheduled the China unveiling for September 25th. Right in time to upstage a certain California fruit company. I remember last year a friend stayed up till 2am for the 15 Ultra drop and let’s just say he spent most of that night reloading livestream links. I guess some things never change, no matter what number is on the phone.
So, what actually stands out in this series besides headlines and hashtags? Let’s start with those batteries. The base Xiaomi 17 comes with a 7,000mAh battery. Having carried an extra power bank for years, I feel weirdly out of practice reading that. You also get 90W fast charging and wireless charging no more camping outside the wall socket at 14%. The Pro and Pro Max take things even further: the 17 Pro has a 6,300mAh cell (strange, but maybe it’s the slimmer body?), and the Pro Max is a total battery beast at 7,500mAh. Imagine topping off a phone that big in minutes with 100W charging. Suddenly, my daily “where’s my charger” ritual feels a little obsolete.
On the inside, these flagships are running the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. I haven’t benchmarked it personally (I just type fast), but everything I’ve read makes this chip sound faster and smarter than I’ll ever need unless I decide to edit 4K video and play Genshin at the same time while running Google Maps on split screen. They all get Xiaomi’s new HyperOS 3, which, rumor has it, is less clutter and more speed. Honestly, I hope that’s true the last version was sometimes a bit too enthusiastic.
Design, you ask? Xiaomi’s going for statement pieces here: flat or curved OLED displays depending on model, punch-hole selfie cams, and this is wild a rear Magic Back Screen on the Pro Max. It's like Xiaomi took the idea from the Mi 11 Ultra and just thought, “Let’s go even bolder.” I can imagine using it as a camera viewfinder, quick-glance clock, or just to make my phone look like something out of a sci-fi show. Gimmick? Maybe. Fun? Definitely.
The cameras are another story. Triple 50MP sensors, Leica-inspired optics (Say cheese and hope for the best!), and a telephoto with full 5x optical zoom. I know my dog would probably get tired of being my camera sample subject, but for anyone who actually uses that zoom to capture more than the neighbor’s cat, this looks promising.
