Xiaomi 17 Ultra hands-on: Camera phone with awesome zoom

Xiaomi’s Ultra line of phones has always been about one thing: Superior camera performance. The new Xiaomi 17 Ultra, presented before MWC 2026 in Barcelona, ​​once again exceeds the limits, although it suffers from the same obstacles as its predecessors.

Note that there was no Xiaomi 16 Ultra; the company decided to skip that number and goes directly from Xiaomi 15 and 15 Ultra to Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra, which may “catch” Apple, whose latest models also have the number seventeen. Despite the changes, the new Xiaomi phones are the evolution of last year’s models.

On the phone side of things, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is an extremely capable Android smartphone, with a 6.9-inch display, 120Hz OLED, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, 16GB of RAM, 512/1024GB storage, and a 6,000mAh battery with 90W wireless charging and 50W wireless charging. It comes in three colors: Black, White, and the shiny Starlit Green (Xiaomi sent me a black unit, but the Starlit Green looks much cooler).

Where the Xiaomi 17 Ultra differs from the regular Xiaomi 17, which also debuted here in Barcelona, ​​it has a larger screen size (6.9 vs. 6.3 inches), and a camera. The Ultra has a large, Leica-branded camera on the back, with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 200-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, along with a 50-megapixel selfie camera on the front.

At 8.29mm thick and weighing 218 grams, it is the thinnest and lightest Xiaomi Ultra phone ever.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

A 200-megapixel, 75-100mm telephoto camera gives this phone the ability to zoom in on the world, up to 17.2x “optical-zoom level.” I tried it, and was able to take usable photos at 100x zoom or more, much farther than my naked eye could see.

On the left:
This is what the XIaomi 17 Ultra telephoto camera can do.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Right:
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Just go out that far, and the AI ​​takes over with a heavy hand, which you’ll see by the way the program repeats the letters of the sign you took from afar. Still, if you like the idea of ​​having a camera that can take sharp pictures of a flower a hundred yards away, this is the phone for you.

On the left:
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Right:
The zoom on this phone is so good, it’s worth giving another example. It’s like having a set of binoculars.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

To add exclamation points to the phone’s camera capabilities, Xiaomi also sells two optional photography kits that contain two separate cases that turn the phone into something that really looks like a compact camera, and adds a few buttons, visual details, and battery life to the mix. The smaller Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photography Kit makes more sense to me since the phone still maintains the standard dimensions; the two-part Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photography Kit Pro makes it too big for my taste.

The graphics kits look cool, but they make the phone too big.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The kits, as cool as they are, show the most obvious drawback of this phone: it’s too much camera. It is heavier, has a smaller battery than the regular Xiaomi 17, and – because of its larger camera on the back – does not support Xiaomi’s wireless, magnetic battery. Don’t get me wrong, this is one powerful phone, but it’s primarily aimed at photography enthusiasts. Kudos to Xiaomi for making the Ultra lighter than ever, although at 218 grams it’s still not exactly lightweight.

If you want your Xiaomi 17 Ultra to be more…Leica, there is a special version just for you, shown as a surprise announcement during Xiaomi’s big launch in Barcelona. Called the Leica Leitzphone, it shares many specs with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, but has a somewhat retro design reminiscent of old Leica cameras, as well as a few Leica-specific photography modes.

This one is for Leica fans.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

It also has one more feature: The ring around its camera bump can be rotated to zoom in or out. I tried it, and it seems quite accurate, although you have to be careful not to put your fingers in front of the lens while shooting.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra starts at 1,499 euros in Europe; no information on US availability yet. The Leica Leitzphone starts at an affordable price of 1,999 euros, and will be available in selected markets and locations.