Not long after the debut of Apple‘s iPhone 17 lineup, Xiaomi also unveiled their latest flagship smartphone lineup, which are successors to the Xiaomi 15 series from last year. But instead of naming them the Xiaomi 16, the Chinese tech giant skipped a number, and presented three new models — the Xiaomi 17, Xiaomi 17 Pro, and the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max.
But the most discussed topic about the Xiaomi 17 series isn’t its naming or its iPhone 17 Pro-like rear design. Instead, the standout feature that caught people’s attention is the secondary display on the back. So let’s delve into that first.
Xiaomi 17 Dynamic Back Display: A foldable phone display that doesn’t fold?
Located to the right of the rear camera island, the Dynamic Back Display is only available on the Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, measuring 2.7″ and 2.9″ with resolutions of up to 976×596 on the larger panel. Xiaomi has even been so kind to grant these back displays LTPO technology with refresh rates of up to 120Hz. They are also plenty bright with a peak brightness of 3,500 nits, paired with DC dimming.
Because of how they look, these back displays remind me of flip foldables like the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4, except that they don’t fold in half. In terms of functionality, you can use the Dynamic Back Display on the Xiaomi 17 Pro to review your selfie, control the music player or countdown time, or display info such as incoming calls, messages, and real-time notifications like flight status and food delivery updates.
You can even pin schedules or QR codes directly on the rear screen, or use it to display cute or cool-looking wallpapers of your choice. What’s even more unique is you can turn the rear display into a Game Boy-like handheld gaming console by putting on the Retro Handheld Console Case.
Xiaomi 17 series spec and features: First Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-powered phones
Aside from the Dynamic Rear Display, the Xiaomi 17 series also made headlines to be the first smartphone powered by Qualcomm’s latest and greatest mobile chipset — the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. With the base model, this processor can be paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, while the Pro models take storage even further by up to 1TB.
To keep the phones running cool especially under heavy loads are vapour chambers, measuring 4,497mm², 4,637mm², and 5,533mm² in size on the Xiaomi 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max respectively.
Now, the rest of the specs. At the front, the Xiaomi 17 series is equipped with 120Hz LTPO AMOLED displays that, like their rear counterparts, can go up to 3,500 nits in brightness. Specifically, the Xiaomi 17 and 17 Pro’s main displays both measure 6.3″ with a 2656×1200 resolution and is protected by Xiaomi’s own Dragon Crystal Glass.
As expected, the Xiaomi 17 Pro houses a larger display at 6.9″ but oddly has a lower resolution of 2608×1200, but is covered with Xiaomi’s Shield Glass 3.0. In addition, the larger model also comes with independent pixel array technology, delivering sharper visuals and better power efficiency.
Like its predecessors, the Xiaomi 17 series is equipped with the Leica Summilux camera setup. With the Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, you get the same OIS-equipped main 50MP f/1.67 camera, paired with a 1/1.28″ Light Fusion 950L sensor. In addition, this sensor features LOFIC technology, delivering an impressive dynamic range of up to 16.5 EV. Also shared between the two, as well as the base model is the 50MP f/2.4 ultra-wide angle camera with 102˚ field of view.
Where the two split ways is with their telephoto shooters. The smaller model comes with a 50MP f/3.0 periscope telephoto camera that features a floating prism. It offers 5x optical zoom capabilities, OIS, and can take macro shots down to a distance of 20cm.
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max on the other hand sports a 50MP f/2.6 periscope telephoto camera that also features OIS and 5x optical zoom. But thanks to a larger 1/2″ sensor, it is claimed to be capable of taking in 30% more light.
As for the “vanilla” Xiaomi 17, aside from the same ultra-wide angle shooter that’s shared with its Pro siblings, you also get a main 50MP f/1.7 camera with a smaller 1/1.31″ sensor, and a 50MP f/2.0 telephoto shooter that can do 2.6x optical zoom. Also not to be forgotten is an upgraded 50MP f/2.2 selfie camera on all models, an upgrade from the Xiaomi 15 and 15 Pro’s 32MP unit.
Keeping the lights on for the Xiaomi 17 Pro is a 6,300mAh silicon-carbon battery, while its higher-spec sibling gets a larger 7,500mAh unit. Interestingly, the non-Pro Xiaomi 17 gets a larger battery than the 17 Pro at 7,000mAh. Across the range, charging can be done via USB-C at 100W using Xiaomi’s own HyperCharge or PPS protocols.
You can also charge them wirelessly at up to 50W, or use your new Xiaomi flagships to reverse wireless charge other accessories or your friend’s iPhone at 22.5W. The Xiaomi 17 series will ship with HyperOS 3 out of the box, based on Android 16.
Xiaomi 17 series pricing in China
Here are the pricing details for the Xiaomi 17 series in China:
Xiaomi 17
- 12GB + 256GB – RMB 4499 (~RM2,657)
- 12GB + 512GB – RMB 4799 (~RM2,835)
- 16GB + 512GB – RMB 4999 (~RM2,953)
Xiaomi 17 Pro
- 12GB + 256GB – RMB 4999 (~RM2,953)
- 12GB + 512GB – RMB 5299 (~RM3,130)
- 16GB + 512GB – RMB 5599 (~RM3,307)
- 16GB + 1TB – RMB 5999 (~RM3,544)
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max
- 12GB + 512GB – RMB 5999 (~RM3,544)
- 16GB + 512GB – RMB 6299 (~RM3,721)
- 16GB + 1TB – RMB 6999 (~RM4,134)
At the time of writing, Xiaomi has yet to announce the Xiaomi 17 series’ official launch date for global and Malaysia market. But looking at their past record, we can expect its global market launch to take place at MWC 2026 in March 2026.
