On Christmas Day, Xiaomi officially unveiled the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, its ultimate photography-centric smartphone developed closely with Leica.
The smartphone maker is taking its partnership with Leica to the next level with improved mobile imaging system which includes a 200MP telephoto camera with continuous optimal zoom. It is also the first with Leica Apochromatic (APO) certified telephoto lens on a smartphone.
In addition, Xiaomi has also unveiled a Leica Edition which boasts classic Leica M camera styling and it even comes with a physical rotating dial around the camera module for granular adjustments.
Xiaomi 17 Ultra
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is a larger device than the current Xiaomi 15 Ultra as it now features a flat 6.9″ 120Hz LTPO AMOLED display that boasts a peak brightness of up to 3500 nits.
However, the screen resolution has dropped from WQHD+ (3200×1440 pixels) on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra to a Full HD+ (2608×1200 pixels) on the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.
Under the hood, it gets the expected performance upgrade with a 3nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 3 paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage.
The biggest star of the show is the main camera setup co-developed with Leica. It gets a 50MP f/1.67 (23mm) main shooter with a “Light Hunter 1050L” 1″ sensor that boasts larger 3.2 micron pixel via 4-in-1 pixel binning and Quad Pixel Detection (QPD) autofocus.
The most most impressive of all is the 200MP Leica telephoto camera with a 1/1.4″ sensor that offers 75mm to 100mm equivalent focal range (3.2x to 4.3x optical zoom). Unlike its predecessor, the new periscope telephoto module offers continuous zoom which offers high quality shots without the need to switch to a different telephoto camera or rely on digital cropping.
According to Xiaomi, the 17 Ultra is the first ever smartphone to use Leica APO-certified telephoto lens which is designed to reduce colour fringing and offers improved sharpness when shooting at longer focal lengths.
Completing the setup is a 50MP (14mm) ultra-wide-angle camera with autofocus that offers 115-degree field of view and it can do macro shots at 5cm. For selfies, the device gets a 50MP front camera that sits on a punch hole on the screen.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is capable of recording videos up to 8K at 30fps, or 4K videos up to 120fps. It is also able to record slow mo in 1080p up to 1920 fps.
As you would expect from a flagship smartphone, it still offers stereo speakers and it boasts IP68-rated dust and water resistance as well as IP69 temperature and high-pressure water spray resistance rating.
In terms of connectivity, it supports the usual 5G bands with dual-SIM, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and USB 3.2 Gen2 that supports maximum data transfer rates up to 10Gbps. Out of the box, it runs on Android 16 with HyperOS 3.0.
Keeping the lights on is a larger 6,800mAh battery and it supports 90W fast wired charging via USB-C and 50W fast wireless charging. Despite having a larger battery (Xiaomi 15 Ultra: 5,410mAh), the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is negligibly heavier at 230g (Xiaomi 15 Ultra: 226g to 229g) but it is thinner at 8.29mm (Xiaomi 15 Ultra: 9.35mm to 9.48mm).
Here’s the official pricing of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra in China:
- 12GB + 512GB – CNY6,999 (about RM4,031)
- 16GB + 512GB – CNY7,499 (about RM4,319)
- 16GB + 1TB – CNY8,499 (about RM4,895)
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra comes in 4 colours – Black, White, Smoked Purple and Starry Green.
As a reference, the current Xiaomi 15 Ultra is priced from RM5,199 in Malaysia.
Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition
If you’re looking for something more special, meet the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition. Available only in Black and White, the Leica Edition features a dual-tone designed inspired by classic Leica M cameras.
In addition, the “Ultra” badging on the corner is replaced with the iconic red Leica logo and the sides get a ribbed design along with a “LEICA CAMERA GERMANY” inscription.
While the hardware underneath is identical to the regular Xiaomi 17 Ultra, the Leica Edition gets a physical rotating Master Zoom Ring around the camera module for a more photography-centric experience.
The ring is mechanical and it allows users to adjust various camera settings including zoom, focus and exposure.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition also gets several Leica-specific features which include “Leica Moment” mode which supposedly provides image quality taken from the Leica M9 as well as Leica M3 and MONOPAN 50.
The Leica Edition also supports Beidou + Tiantong dual satellite communication which is useful for communications while shooting in out of coverage areas.
Here’s the pricing of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition in China:
- 16GB + 512GB: CNY7,999 (about RM4,608)
- 16GB + 1TB: CNY8,999 (about RM5,183)
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra including the Leica Edition is currently available only in China. For the rest of the world, Xiaomi is expected to introduce the entire Xiaomi 17 series in early 2026 and the global launch is likely to take place during Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona.
