In the United States, discussions about the best camera phones largely focus on iPhones, the Samsung Galaxy series, and, lately, the Google Pixel. By contrast, people in Asia and parts of Europe have a wider range of options, as companies like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are improving their camera range.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which recently had its global launchis one such device, with a large camera housing a versatile set of sensors and a partnership with historic German camera maker Leica to provide software-level changes and sensitivities to how scenes are filmed.
The camera has tons of options to choose from, ranging from different focal lengths on the hardware side to various filters and settings to change the look of the final image.
Xiaomi has also released external add-ons that sit like a cover on the camera, as well as a USB-based accessory that provides hardware buttons for recording videos or photos. While these add-ons don’t add many particular features, they do make it easier to operate the camera with one hand.
In addition to the camera, Xiaomi has equipped its phone with top-notch components to compete with the best phones of the year. I’ll talk about the camera in detail, but let me leave out the rest of the hardware description.
Hardware
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra uses Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processors, which will be the choice for flagships this year. On the front there is a 6.9-inch AMOLED display with 1200 x 2608 pixel resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.
The screen is quite bright with a maximum brightness of 3500 nits. This is useful for operating the phone in bright conditions and also provides a good experience for watching videos.
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The 6,000 mAh battery is possibly one of the best results of the silicon/carbon ion technology that Xiaomi uses. Given the large size of the battery, it can last a couple of days with light to medium use and has a good standby time as well. While the battery is large, the phone is still lighter than the iPhone Pro Max, which is also a win for the company’s engineering team.
The phone supports 90W wired charging and you can use the charger that Xiaomi supplies with the phone or any PD (Power Delivery) 3.0 or PPS (Programmable Power Supply) based charger. It also supports 50W with Xiaomi’s own charger.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has 16GB of RAM and two memory options of 512GB and 1TB.
Camera
Xiaomi is using a 1-inch 50-megapixel sensor with an f/1.67 aperture for the main camera, with the aim of capturing more light. The camera takes sharp and vivid photos without losing white balance. The sensor is good at picking up details in different lighting conditions. Like the iPhone Pro Max, with the main camera, you can switch to 23mm, 28mm, and 35mm equivalent framing.
The phone has a fairly unique 200-megapixel telephoto lens. Instead of offering stepped optical zoom options like 2x and 4x, it has a continuous optical zoom of 3.2x to 4.3x. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like much, but when taking photos of pets or framing certain objects within the frame, it is very useful. One limitation is that in the camera’s UI, you can easily jump to focal lengths of 75mm, 85mm, 90mm, and 100mm, but you have to press the zoom control and move around the marker if you need to get to other focal lengths between 75mm and 100mm.
The company uses a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera with f/2.2 aperture. This lens is also useful for very impressive macro photography. For the most part, this camera is sufficient, but it loses a bit of detail compared to the other two cameras in certain shots. There’s also a 50-megapixel selfie camera, but remember to turn off all beauty filters.
The camera controls are a standard affair, but there are many options to get the photo of an object with different styles. By default, the camera follows an authentic Leica color scheme, but with a tap you can change it to Leica Vibrant. There is a filter option that gives you options like positive and negative film; Leica specific filters such as vivid, natural, black and white, speia and blue; and Xiaomi’s own filters such as cinematic, monsoon, teal and scarlet fog.
The company’s two add-ons are called The 17 Ultra Photography Kit and The 17 Ultra Photography Kit Pro. The basic version acts as a cover and fits directly onto the phone. It connects to the phone via Bluetooth, has a two-stage shutter button (for autofocus and photo capture) and a video recording button. The case uses contact charging for its battery.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photography Kit Pro includes a case and another camera grip-like controller that connects to the phone via USB-C. The Pro Kit also has a 2,000 mAh battery to power its operation. The grip allows you to hold the phone with one hand easily.
At the top of the grip, there is a dedicated shutter button and a video recording button. There is also another customizable dial that can control exposure, filters, ISO, shutter speed or white balance. You can also use this dial to browse the gallery. The Pro Kit also comes with a ring on which compatible 67mm camera filters can be attached.
I used the Kit Pro constantly when moving around the streets because I could easily hold the phone in one hand and take photos with a good number of camera controls at my fingertips. Plus, using a camera-like add-on made taking photos and videos fun. I really appreciated having a hardware zoom control.
Both kits activate a software fastshot mode within the camera, which has easy-access controls for street photography.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra will face competition in the global market from upcoming devices like the Vivo X300 Ultra, which also has a stylish photography kit including a 2.35x telephoto extender, and the Oppo Find X9. But due to the earlier launch of its phone, Xiaomi could enjoy this boost. Aside from the camera, the phone packs a punch if you’re okay with a large camera housing on the back.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has a starting price of €1,499 in Europe. The Photography Kit is priced at €99.99 and the Photography Kit Pro is priced at €199.99.
