Xiaomi has launched its flagship smartphone, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, in China today, marking an early debut for the company’s top-tier model. The phone focuses on advanced photography features developed with Leica and comes with high-end hardware, alongside a modest price increase compared with its predecessor.
The launch was confirmed by Xiaomi through posts on Weibo, where the company revealed the phone’s redesigned rear camera module and premium colour options, including Silver Chrome, Black, White, and Starry Green. Sales begin in China immediately, while a global rollout is expected in early 2026.
Camera-focused flagship
Photography remains the main selling point of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. The device features a quad rear camera system with Leica optics. This includes a 50-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilisation, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 50-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 200-megapixel periscope camera offering up to 4.3x optical zoom and 120x digital zoom.
The camera system supports 8K video recording, Leica colour profiles, UltraRAW photography, and advanced subject tracking. The front camera ranges between 32MP and 50MP, with support for 4K video recording.
Display and performance
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra features a 6.82-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 1440 x 3200 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Xiaomi claims peak brightness of up to 5,000 nits, with protection provided by Xiaomi Shield Glass 2.0.
The phone runs Android 16 with HyperOS 3 and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, built on a 3-nanometre process. It is available with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage.
Battery and connectivity
The device packs a silicon-carbon battery rated between 6,800mAh and 7,000mAh, depending on the variant. It supports 100W wired charging, 80W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.
Other features include an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, an IR blaster, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0.
Pricing and availability
Pricing in China starts at around 6,599 yuan (approximately $930), reflecting a slight increase over the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. Xiaomi has attributed the higher price to rising memory and component costs.
The company has not confirmed international pricing, but industry estimates suggest the Xiaomi 17 Ultra could be priced at around ₹1,19,990 in India. A global launch is expected in March 2026, though Xiaomi has not officially announced a release date outside China.
