Xiaomi 17 Ultra launches globally – and it's Xiaomi’s most ambitious camera phone yet

Xiaomi has unveiled the global version of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, its latest imaging-focused flagship, which is again co-engineered with Leica. On paper, it might be the most technically ambitious camera phone the company has produced to date.

Building on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s “Optical Night” philosophy, the 17 Ultra introduces a new 1-inch Light Fusion 1050L sensor with LOFIC HDR technology and what Xiaomi is calling the industry’s first 75–100mm mechanical optical zoom paired with a 200MP sensor.

1-inch sensor and mechanical zoom

One of the hallmarks of the Xiaomi Ultra series has been the 1-inch main camera sensor, and Xiaomi isn’t mixing things up too much for the 17 Ultra.

The main sensor is again 50MP, 23mm equivalent focal length, with a 1-inch Light Fusion 1050L sensor and f/1.67 aperture, with OIS. However, Xiaomi says this new sensor uses LOFIC (Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor) HDR technology to physically expand full-well capacity, rather than relying solely on multi-frame processing. That’s all quite a lot of jargon, but in simple terms, LOFIC increases the amount of light pixels can store, to better handle highlight information in high-contrast scenes, and should produce more balanced and detailed HDR.

But if the main camera is an evolution, the telephoto is more of a revolution – at least in smartphone terms. Xiaomi is introducing a mechanical zoom on its telephoto; this isn’t just sensor cropping between two fixed focal lengths. Xiaomi has implemented a mechanical optical zoom system that physically adjusts lens groups to deliver genuine optical coverage across the entire 75–100mm range – just like a real camera zoom lens.

It’s also the first Xiaomi flagship to carry Leica APO optical certification on its telephoto lens, using a triple-glass apochromatic design to minimize chromatic aberration at long focal lengths.

This means that the Xiaomi 17 Ultra swaps out the dual telephotos from the last model for just a single 200MP telephoto camera. The lens has a 75–100mm equivalent focal range and a variable f/2.39–2.96 aperture with all focal lengths between 75–100mm using the same large 1/1.4-inch sensor. It also allows lossless photos up to a 400mm equivalent using in-sensor zoom, thanks to that pixel-dense 200MP sensor. Xiaomi claims the 17 Ultra is capable of a total of 17.2x “optical-quality” zoom across its lenses.

The downsides to this new lens? Macro takes a hit; the close focus distance has jumped from 10cm on the 15 Ultra to 30cm on the 17 Ultra. The ultrawide camera also supports 5cm macro, but ultrawide is not really the ideal perspective for macro work.

Rounding out the camera system is a 50MP ultrawide, with a 14mm equivalent focal length, f/2.2 aperture, and 115° field of view. On the front, there is a 50MP selfie snapper with a 21mm equivalent focal length.

Video specs are also flagship-grade, maxing out at 8K/30p, but also supporting 4K Dolby Vision at up to 120p, and Log recording up to 4K 120p with ACES (Academy Color Encoding System) support, which standardises color across devices for post-production editing.

Faster processor and a new look

Despite housing a new mechanical telephoto system and a larger battery, Xiaomi says the 17 Ultra is its thinnest and lightest Ultra yet. It measures 162.9 x 77.6 x 8.29mm and weighs 218.4g or 219g, depending on the color. Speaking of, it launches in three colorways: Black and White models feature high-strength composite fiberglass backs, while the hero Starlit Green version uses genuine mineral particles in the finish.

Xiaomi has shifted to an all-flat body with a flat display and flat back, framed by an aluminium alloy chassis. The display is protected by Xiaomi Shield Glass 3.0, which Xiaomi claims is 30% more drop-resistant than the glass used on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and the phone retains IP68 dust and water resistance.

The screen is a 6.9-inch Xiaomi HyperRGB OLED panel with a 2608 x 1200 resolution, 1–120Hz LTPO refresh rate, and up to 3500 nits peak brightness, alongside TÜV Rheinland certifications for low blue light, flicker-free operation, and circadian-friendly performance.

Battery capacity has grown to 6000mAh, aided by a 16% high-silicon carbide design to increase energy density – although for whatever reason, this is a significantly smaller battery than the Chinese version of the phone. The 17 Ultra can recharge at up to 90W wired HyperCharge and 50W wireless charging, with compatible chargers.

Powering all of this is Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage in either 512GB or 1TB configurations.

Photography Kits

As with previous Ultras, Xiaomi is offering dedicated photography accessories to turn the 17 Ultra into as close to a compact camera replacement as possible.

The new Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photography Kit adds a physical shutter button and grip, and is available in black, white, and pink. While the Photography Kit Pro integrates a 2000mAh battery and more Leica-inspired ergonomics with a two-stage shutter button, flanked by a manual zoom rocker and a physical exposure compensation dial, as well as a filter ring for attaching screw-in filters like polarisers and ND grads. The Pro case will be available in just a svetle understated black.

Pricing and availability

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra will be going global – although, as usual, that does not mean the US, but you can expect it to land in Europe and Australia. US-based phone photography enthusiasts can likely import it, but double-check it works on your carrier’s network beforehand.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is launching at £1,299 / €1,499 for the 16GB+256GB version and £1,499 for the 16GB+1TB version.