Xiaomi 17 Ultra (Global) review
Competition
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra goes global and once again carries a hefty price tag. Starting at €1,500, it's one of the most expensive phones out there, even when you account for its generous 16GB/512GB base memory. The Leica edition, or the Leica Leitzphone by Xiaomi, as per the official global name, is asking an outrageous €1,999.
The 17 Ultra is more "Ultra" than the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. It has a more potent and versatile camera setup, and considering the modest upgrade over the S25 Ultra, the Xiaomi 17 most likely has much longer battery life, faster charging and twice the base storage.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Aside from the Galaxy S Ultra, there aren't any other Ultra options to be had outside of China, leaving the Xiaomi 17 Ultra in a particularly comfortable market position.
In case you don't want to make camera compromises and the 17 Ultra's price tag is too big to swallow, you should definitely check out the Oppo Find X9 Pro. The camera prowess may not be as good, but it gets very close to Xiaomi's flagship. It's also slightly more compact and has a tad longer battery life. And who knows, ColorOS might be your thing.
Oppo Find X9 Pro • vivo X300 Pro • Honor Magic8 Pro
The vivo X300 Pro is another great alternative, if available in your country, with arguably better camera processing and faster charging, but drags behind in terms of battery endurance.
Last but not least, the Honor Magic8 Pro is а solid alternative with comparable battery life and faster charging, but it's no match for the Xiaomi 17 Ultra's camera prowess.
Verdict
As it currently stands, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is likely the best camera phone outside of China. The Oppo Find X9 Ultra and the vivo X300 Ultra will be the only real competitors, if they make it outside of China. Maybe the video recording capability is the only thing that keeps us from giving this phone a perfect score.
However, the Xiaomi Ultra isn't just a cameraphone. It's the whole package - it's powerful, it has an excellent display, snappy charging and extra-long battery life. Now that we have it as a global version, it's becoming increasingly hard not to like this phone. Reminds us of Samsung Note's glory days.
Pros
- Premium and sturdy design.
- Even bigger display.
- Class-leading battery life; decently fast charging.
- Loud and very nice-sounding speakers.
- Feature-rich HyperOS; decent sustained performance
- Superb main camera, surprisingly good ultrawide, excellent telephoto across its entire (admittedly narrow) zoom range
- Several optional camera-centric accessories available at launch.
Cons
- Very high price tag at launch.
- Main camera's video stabilization could be better when walking.
- Camera app is brimming with features and modes, and it can be overwhelming.
- Shorter minimum focusing distance on the telephoto camera would have been appreciated.
| 512GB 16GB RAM | $ 1,142.98 |
£ 1,099.00 |
| Show all prices | ||
