New Delhi: Where other tech giant companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google are continue repeating the same design formula year after year with flat looks and incremental camera improvements, Xiaomi has taken this into a bold experimental approach with its latest Xiaomi 17 Ultra. This device looks less like a smartphone and more like a pocket camera that users can carry anywhere, by representing what might be the peak of smartphone camera experimentation can done by smartphone brand.
Design
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra belongs to a unique category of devices that are cameras which just happen to make phone calls. The massive camera module covers almost half of the phone’s back, creating an aesthetic reminiscent of classic Leica cameras, complete with the iconic Leica red dot.
This year, Xiaomi launched two versions: the standard Xiaomi 17 Ultra and the Leica Edition. The Leica Edition features a distinctive dual-tone leather and glass finish with metal frames that include ridges on the sides for better grip, similar to camera lenses. The volume buttons are circular, matching traditional camera design elements. Unlike its predecessor, the 15 Ultra, this model is completely flat on both front and back.
The Leica Edition includes premium accessories: a case with the rotatable ring, a lanyard, and a lens cap with the classic Leica font. Despite having one fewer camera sensor than last year’s model, the device has maintains a slim profile while upgrading battery capacity and other internals.
Display and Performance
The device sports a larger 6.9-inch LTPO display with 120Hz refresh rate and 3,500 nits of peak brightness. Xiaomi has upgraded the glass protection to Shield Glass 3.0, which they claim is 20 times stronger than normal strengthened glass.
Under the hood, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor powers the device, scoring around 39 lakhs in AnTuTu benchmarks. In terms of gaming performance it is very excellent, which handling titles like BGMI at 90fps and Wuthering Waves at high settings without any significant heating or lag. The device maintains temperatures around 27-30°C during the intensive gaming sessions that gamers actually do, though it has extended photography sessions can cause more noticeable warming.
The battery is a highlighted feature in this device it comes with the massive 6,800mAh lithium-ion battery with silicon carbon anode upgraded from the 15 Ultra’s 6,000mAh easily provides 1 to 1.5 days of usage. It supports 90W fast charging, 50W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.
Camera
The camera system is where the Xiaomi 17 Ultra truly shines. It features a 1-inch main sensor, making Xiaomi the only company currently using this size. The innovative rotatable camera ring contains 20 tiny magnets and sensors that provide haptic feedback, allowing precise control over zoom, ISO, focus, and other settings without touching the screen.
The telephoto camera employs actual floating lens technology. Unlike most of the smartphones that zoom by cropping and stretching images, this camera has physically moves internal glass lenses like a DSLR zoom lens. When zooming from 75mm to 100mm, it uses the entire 200-megapixel sensor at every zoom level, maintaining exceptional detail throughout the range.
Photos exhibit DSLR-like depth with natural background blur, even in group shots. The LFIC technology in the camera sensors uses with the dual-pixel architecture, by providing excellent light control to the photographers. Each of the pixel effectively has two “cups” for capturing light one for dark areas and one for bright lights which resulting in the clean night photos with minimal noise.
Video capabilities are equally impressive, supporting 8K at 30fps and 4K at 120fps. This device can even record video in super slow-motion at 1080p and 1920fps, though only for 10-second bursts which is an pretty cool thing this device is might offering to the users.
Pricing
In China, the standard edition launched at approximately 6,999 yuan (around ₹90,000), while the Leica Edition costs 7,999 yuan (around ₹1,05,000-₹1,10,000). Indian pricing is expected to range between ₹1.1 lakh to ₹1.4 lakh and in this pricing if anyone wanted an perfectly-balanced camera smartphone, then they can check this device for sure.
Final Thoughts
The smartphone flagship market has evolved into three distinct categories: companies sticking to safe formulas, brands making significant hardware upgrades, and experimental innovators like Xiaomi. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra represents the latter a device that prioritizes camera innovation over the conventional smartphone design. While devices like the Vivo X300 Pro or Oppo Find X9 Pro offer much balanced camera experiences to the users, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is for those who want artistic, Leica-style photography and aren’t afraid of bold experimentation. The floating lens technology in the periscope camera may well represent the future of smartphone photography.
