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Xiaomi 17 Ultra Review: The New Gold Standard for Camera Purists

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Review: The New Gold Standard for Camera Purists

Name: Xiaomi 17 Ultra Review: The New Gold Standard for Camera Purists
Item: Xiaomi 17 Ultra

The most complete camera smartphone money can buy, provided your budget is as 'Ultra' as the hardware. Here's our review of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.

Written by Ketan Pratap | Updated: 15 April 2026 09:25 IST

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Review: The New Gold Standard for Camera Purists

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Highlights

The 17 Ultra packs a 1-inch LOFIC sensor
It is powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
The phone packs a 6000mAh battery

Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the latest addition to the company's Ultra portfolio, which has been raising the bar for what a smartphone camera can do. The 12S Ultra launch in 2022 was a start to a camera purist smartphone range, and since then, we have got a new iteration every year - Xiaomi 13 Ultra in 2023, Xiaomi 14 Ultra in 2024, and Xiaomi 15 Ultra last year. And, 2026 is no different, thanks to the 17 Ultra launch.

Announced globally at MWC 2026, the Xiaomi 17 range has reached Indian shores quickly and has been on sale since last month. At Rs. 139,999, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is aimed at camera enthusiasts, and if the device hardware wasn't enough to excite customers, the company has thrown in Photography Kit Pro as well, which is available separately.

For someone who has covered all the Ultras from the house of Xiaomi, I can say that the 17 Ultra is on a very different price point, but majorly this is due to the memory chip shortage situation that has pushed prices on a higher side overall across devices. So, the big question here is if you're in the market and looking to pick a camera-focused smartphone, should you go for the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with the additional bells and whistles it comes with? Time to answer that in my review.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Design and Display: Thinnest Ultra Yet Combined With Superb Display

162.9x77.6x8.3mm and 224 grams
IP68 dust and water-resistant
Aluminium frame and Aerospace-grade glass fibre back

The good thing about Xiaomi's Ultra range is that the devices have more or less followed the same camera deco design at the back, which makes it easier for people to recognise them. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra follows the signature design - a large camera deco at the back - that drops the biggest hint that this is a camera-focused smartphone.

It sports a refined R-angle in the camera deco, and the entire camera placement is micro-curved to offer a natural design flow

In a world where most smartphone manufacturers, like Apple, Samsung, and others, have shifted to flat design phones, Xiaomi has finally joined the club. Xiaomi's timeless design for the Ultra, mixed with a flat back, sits well. The 17 Ultra's China variant comes with a rotating camera deco; however, globally, the Leica phone has it, not the regular Ultra model.

Unlike the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, the 17 Ultra ditches the dual-tone design that seemed heavily inspired by Leica DSLRs. Interestingly, the dual-tone design is now reserved for Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition, which will not come to India.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the thinnest Ultra model yet and measures just 8.29mm

Talking about the 17 Ultra, it is the thinnest and lightest Ultra smartphone yet from the house of Xiaomi. And that itself tells you a story that Xiaomi has been refining the overall design of its top-tier smartphone. The all-flat body on the 17 Ultra puts it in the league of other flat-body smartphones like the iPhone 17 Pro series and Samsung Galaxy S26 series.

Even the camera deco has received enhancements, including a slight reposition. The new camera deco feels less intrusive and seems thoughtful to position it this way to offer improved grip. The smartphone is available in India in Black and White. Gadgets 360 received the latter for review, but we would have really loved to see the Starlit Green come to India. I checked it out during the global launch in Spain ahead of MWC 2026, and it looked stunning, especially when compared to the Black and White colours. In China, the phone is also available in a purple colourway but is exclusive to that market.

The camera module on the 17 Ultra has been redesigned, reduced, and repositioned

The company has also worked to keep the 17 Ultra durable enough to last for years, and Xiaomi Guardian Structure is one such example. Additionally, it gets Xiaomi Shield Glass 3.0, which the company claims offers 30 percent better drop resistance than the 15 Ultra. The back of the 17 Ultra is a high-strength fibreglass panel, which you won't realise until you hold the device in your hand. Thanks to its material, the back of the phone remains mostly cool. The handset features an aluminium alloy frame and an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. The phone also features a 3D Dual-Channel IceLoop system to keep things cool. The bottom panel houses the SIM card tray, and it supports dual SIMs (or one physical SIM and another eSIM). There's also a Type C port and a speaker grille on the bottom panel. The right panel houses all physical toggles for volume rockers and power. The design of volume rockers is really cool and adds to the character of the device.

The display is bright and delivers accurate colours, deep contrast, and true HDR

On the display front, Xiaomi's 17 Ultra is no less than any flagship smartphone you will see in 2026. With a 6.9-inch LTPO AMOLED display, the 17 Ultra offers 3500nits of peak brightness, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 1200x2608-pixel screen resolution with a 416 PPI pixel density. Two important things to note here are an increase in overall display size compared to the 15 Ultra, which featured a 6.73-inch display, and a slight drop in display resolution, down from 522PPI on the predecessor.

In real-world use, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra offers a stunning display, which is bright, with accurate colours that pop, deep contrast, and true HDR. The smartphone is a great fit, right from your binge-watching to multimedia usage. For a phone built for camera use, display quality matters a lot, and I can't say the 17 Ultra left me wanting more.

Xiaomi has used a custom M10 display panel on the 17 Ultra

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Camera: A Mechanical Marvel

50-megapixel main sensor with f/1.7 aperture, PDAF and OIS
200-megapixel telephoto sensor with 4.3x optical zoom
50-megapixel ultrawide sensor with PDAF
50-megapixel selfie camera

With the 17 Ultra, Xiaomi is going all in with the cameras, be it the primary camera that gets the headlining 1-inch sensor or the telephoto sensor that offers continuous zoom covering a 75mm to 100mm range - more versatile than its predecessor.

The device gets the Leica camera system engineered into it

Talking about daylight photos, the 17 Ultra excels across all departments, from details to texture to natural colours. The phone consistently keeps dynamic range in check and delivers better photos than some of the competition devices at this price point. If you're using the Xiaomi 17 Ultra in daylight or in well-lit areas, you will get great photos with plenty of detail and crisp colours.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Daylight Samples with Main Camera

Jumping to slightly zoomed shots, the 17 Ultra manages those swiftly as well. I absolutely loved 2x shots as there was hardly any compromise in quality throughout. Some samples below show the device nailing the shots, whether it's the Eiffel Tower without the Sun, a far shot of the clock tower, or Mario toys outside an eatery. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra pulls all shots with absolute precision, and colours are accurate and have enough details.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Zoom Camera Samples

The telephoto sensor is once again a major strength of the 17 Ultra and performs well in various scenarios, including portraits. The 3.2x shots come out absolutely stunning, and a fun fact is that even the 4.3x shots come as crisp as 3.2x thanks to the new continuous zoom telephoto setup that the phone gets. Both Xiaomi and Leica have done a great job with this combination.

Captured at 8.6x with Xiaomi 17 Ultra

Another Zoom camera sample from the Xiaomi 17 Ultra

Coming to the ultrawide camera, the 17 Ultra impresses thanks equally to Xiaomi's great setup. The phone handles colours well, and the dynamic range is excellent. Colour rendering is nice, and white balance is accurate mostly. Some samples below for your reference.

Ultrawide Camera Samples (above)

Xiaomi 17 Ultra - Portrait Camera Samples

Even the portraits on the Xiaomi 17 Ultra feel effortless, and I had no complaints with the samples I captured. However, the macro shots aren't as good as those I got with the 15 Ultra, so that's one Achilles' heel of the device.

For Macro Shots, the 17 Ultra isn't as versatile as the 15 Ultra

Jumping to the low-light performance, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra gets LOFIC to enhance low-light photos, and I wasn't left wanting for more. What is LOFIC? Well, unlike traditional HDR, which stacks multiple photos that may lead to motion blur, LOFIC instead captures a massive dynamic range in a single exposure. What this allows is for the phone to handle extremely difficult lighting conditions, like a sunset or a bright neon sign at night, without losing detail in either the deepest shadows or the brightest highlights. This made low-light performance amazing, with plenty of detail captured, a decent dynamic range, and good highlight retention. The best thing is that even the skin tones are natural in extremely challenging lighting conditions. Of course, in dark conditions, I noticed that colours remained muted because the light source was limited.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Low-Light Camera Samples

Even the indoor shots with Xiaomi 17 Ultra come out really well

For selfies, the 17 Ultra gets a big bump, now packing a 50-megapixel camera compared to the 32-megapixel sensor on the 15 Ultra. It now features autofocus and produces some amazing selfies with good skin tones. Talking about videos, the 17 Ultra can record up to 8K 30fps on all rear cameras, while the front camera can record 4K at 60fps. The good news is that there's Dolby Vision support and spatial audio capability. The quality of videos recorded on the 17 Ultra's main camera is great during daylight, with accurate colours, sharpness, and dynamic range. However, when using other sensors, the quality isn't as crisp. Low-light video quality takes a hit compared to daylight videos.

It gets the Leica 50-megapixel 1-inch ultra-dynamic sensor with LOFIC HDR

Photography Kit

If you want to turn the Xiaomi 17 Ultra into a full-on camera rig designed for long shoots, go for the kit sold separately. You get a Pro photography grip (with lanyard), a 67mm filter adapter ring, a detachable physical shutter button, and a magnetic slim protective case. Of course, there's no dedicated lens kit with the 17 Ultra as the phone itself is pretty capable (no pun intended).

Overall, if you're someone who loves to take photos, then Xiaomi 17 Ultra is an absolutely gem of a device. Be it street photography, landscape photography, or any other challenging lighting condition, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra does impress. The main camera is amazing across the board.

The camera UI is a familiar one, and there are plenty of shooting modes and options baked in

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Performance: Strictly Ultra

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3nm)
16GB RAM + 512GB Storage
HyperOS 3.0 based on Android 16
Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor

Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the best example of how to make Android flagships versatile, especially packing them with capable cameras. In terms of performance, the 17 Ultra knocks it out of the park with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC under the hood. It can absolutely nail day-to-day performance. Even for gaming, the 17 Ultra is a strong contender that can handle a few hours without a sweat. In our set of synthetic benchmark tests, the 17 Ultra impressed us, and you can check the scores below.

Benchmarks	Xiaomi 17 Ultra	Galaxy S26 Ultra	iPhone 17 Pro Max
Display resolution	1.5K	QHD+	1,320 x 2,868 pixels
Chipset	SD 8 Elite Gen 5 (3nm)	SD 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (3nm)	Apple A19 Pro
AnTuTu v10	34,36,995	37,61,149	23,95,000
PCMark Work 3.0	16,469	20,273	NA
Geekbench 6 Single	3497	3,675	3,484
Geekbench 6 Multi	10,352	10,846	9,080
Geekbench AI CPU (Quantized)	3,055	6,913	NA
Geekbench AI GPU (Quantized)	4,244	4,004	NA
3DM Wild Life	Maxed Out	Maxed Out	Maxed Out
3DM Wild Life Unlimited	23,916	30,069	NA
3DM Steel Nomad Light	2,201	2,794	NA

Talking about HyperOS 3, the 17 Ultra gets refined animations as Xiaomi notes that over 100 system-wide animations have been refined for a more fluid look. There's also HyperIsland, Xiaomi's take on Dynamic Island, which notifies you when it's plugged in for charging, when the timer is in use, and for calendar and other system notifications. The new UI also offers AI Cinematic Lock Screen and AI Dynamic Wallpapers that look neat and can transform your personal photos into stunning cinematic visuals. HyperOS 3 also offers tons of customisation options for the home screen. The new UI also gets AI features like Smart screen recognition, which identifies images and instantly generates captions, DeepThink mode that generates thoughtful insights and high-quality content in Notes, AI Speech Recognition, which transcribes in real time and summarises quickly, and other features like AI Speech Recognition, AI Search, AI Translate, and AI Interpreter that can simultaneously interpret calls.

It gets Dolby Atmos stereo speakers and features like AI noise reduction for clearer calls and sound output

If there's one core feature that HyperOS 3.0 has really improved, it's cross-ecosystem support, especially with Apple devices. The all-new Touch to share feature on the 17 Ultra also works with Apple devices. The haptic feedback on the 17 Ultra is another highlight of the phone, enhancing the overall experience, including gaming. The speakers, however, do not seem that great, with clarity missing at 100% volume, be it for songs or dialogues, in any OTT series. I believe the phone's speaker setup is decent and works best at 70% or lower volume. The ultrasonic fingerprint scanner works flawlessly, and I didn't encounter any issues during my time with the device. Even the face unlock is snappy.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Battery: Meets Expectations

6000mAh battery
90W wired HyperCharge
50W wireless HyperCharge

One of the specs that disappointed me initially when I looked at the spec sheet was the battery size. In China, the 17 Ultra packs a 6800mAh battery, but here in India, it has a 6000mAh unit. However, in day-to-day use, the battery impresses, proving that a higher number doesn't always mean longer battery standby time.

The phone can fully charge (0 to 100%) within 45 minutes, which is impressive

With heavy usage, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra can last about a day, where I had used the camera extensively for about 2 hours, streamed a full show (about 4 hours) with multiple episodes, played BGMI for about an hour, did my daily work tasks on Outlook, Gmail, Slack and used other apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, X Reddit, and more. With medium to light usage, the phone can last for more than a day. The 90W fast charging means the 17 Ultra can fully charge in under 45 minutes, which is a tad faster than the 15 Ultra. It also gets 50W wireless charging.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra gets IP66 + IP68 + IP69 rating

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Verdict

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is currently among a handful of Ultra devices in the Indian market. Most Ultra devices at this point are limited to the Chinese market and are likely to reach Indian shores only after a few weeks. The 17 Ultra offers one of the solid packages, with an absolutely fantastic camera setup, outstanding raw performance, and a decent battery. On the software front, the phone promises 5 years of OS updates and 6 years of security updates, which is impressive for a flagship. Though this still sits below the likes of Pixels and Galaxy smartphones. The camera is one of the 17 Ultra's biggest strengths, and anyone looking for a camera-focused smartphone can go for this.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has been launched in India at Rs. 139,999, and at this price, it goes up against the Android flagships available in the market. From the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, available at Rs. 139,999 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, which offers decent performance, though the camera doesn't match the 17 Ultra's prowess. Next up, there's the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, which offers an unmatched software experience and retails at Rs. 124,999. Of course, there's the iPhone 17 Pro Max in the fray, possibly the most expensive offering at Rs. 149,900, but the package is pretty solid for those looking to keep their phone for 3-5 years.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Superb cameras
Solid design
Bright display
Decent battery backup and 90W wired fast-charging support
Photography kit (sold separately)

Bad
Expensive
Stereo speakers aren't very loud

Read detailed Xiaomi 17 Ultra review

Display 6.90-inch

Processor Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Front Camera 50-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 200-megapixel + 50-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 512GB

Battery Capacity 6,800mAh

OS Android 16

More Xiaomi mobiles Xiaomi mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Xiaomi 17 Ultra

Ketan Pratap

Email Ketan

Ketan Pratap is the Editor at Gadgets 360. His primary role - debugging the tech hype, benchmarking the future, and compiling it all into precise news, features or reviews. He has spent over 14 years calling out vaporware and identifying the best tech. He’s your guide for everything from chipsets to smart-home meltdowns. When his own batteries are low, he heads for the hills—literally. He’s someone who prefers a remote mountain pass, appreciating a 12,000-foot view that no VR ...More