Xiaomi 17 Pro Max hands-on review

Introduction

Xiaomi is skipping the number 16 for this year's flagships, and it's jumping straight to 17, implying that it's ready to take on the iPhone 17 series directly. Further underlining those ambitions, the Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are very similar to the iPhone 17 counterparts design-wise, but there's a big twist.

Xiaomi's latest Pro models feature a secondary OLED screen right next to the cameras, which is undoubtedly their most eye-catching feature. It's not something we haven't seen before. The Xiaomi 11 Ultra from a few years ago had a second screen on its back, but the one here is bigger, brighter and overall much better.

The secondary display measures 2.9" and has the same 120 Hz refresh rate as the main one. Peak brightness on both is reportedly 3,500 nits, according to Xiaomi.

Before we move on, we have to make it clear that we obtained this review device from China as Xiaomi has not yet announced its plans for releasing it to other markets. When and if it does, the globally released product may get tweaks or specs differences, so we will review it separately again.

Xiaomi 17 Pro Max specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.9x77.6x8.0mm, 219g; Glass front (Dragon Crystal Glass 3), aluminum frame; IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 6m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.90" LTPO AMOLED, 68B colors, 2160Hz PWM, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR Vivid, HDR10+, 3500 nits (peak), 1200x2608px resolution, 19.56:9 aspect ratio, 416ppi; Secondary display (on the back):, LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR Vivid, HDR10+, 3500 nits (peak), 2.9 inches, 596 x 976 pixels.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8850-AC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.6 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix L + 6x3.62 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix M); Adreno 840.
• Memory: 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 16, HyperOS 3.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.7, 23mm, 1/1.28", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.6, 115mm, 1/1,95", PDAF (30cm - ∞), OIS, 5x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.4, 17mm, 102˚, 1/2.88", 0.61µm, PDAF.
• Front camera: 50 MP, f/2.2, 21mm, 1/2.88", 0.61µm, PDAF
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps (HDR), 4K@30/60/120fps (HDR10+, 10-bit Dolby Vision HDR, 10-bit LOG), 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, 720p@1920fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, HDR10+, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 7500mAh; 100W wired, PD3.0, QC3+, 100W PPS, 50W wireless, 22.5W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LHDC 5; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers (with Dolby Atmos); Ultra Wideband (UWB) support.

Moving on with the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max update overview, you get a new front screen as well. The Pro Max features a 6.9-inch LTPO OLED panel with thinner, symmetrical bezels all around. It's also said to be brighter than the previous lineup.

The 17 Pro Max is the first phone released with the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, promising performance and efficiency improvements, as always. Impressively, the 17 Pro Max comes with 512GB storage in its base version.

The camera system gets a small update, with the main camera now featuring a slightly larger sensor, the new Light Fusion 950L. The 50MP 5x telephoto did get minor tweaks to the prism layout, allowing a bigger 1/2" sensor as well. The 50MP ultrawide unit features autofocus, enabling it to capture close-ups. You can also take excellent close-up shots with the zoom camera as well, just don't expect telemacro level of magnification here - at 30cm, the minimum focusing distance is not so short.

Xiaomi is finally replacing the old 32MP selfie camera with a seemingly much better 50MP shooter with autofocus. A well overdue update.

The battery receives a massive update as well. The 17 Pro Max is now equipped with a power pack worthy of a small tablet, boasting 7,500 mAh capacity. There's no compromise in the fast charging either, as the handset supports 100W wired and 50W wireless charging. That's even a small step up from last year's Xiaomi 15 Pro.

Now let's take a tour around the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max - join us on the next page!