Xiaomi 17 review: long battery life and powerful images in a small design
1/3/2026
Translation: Elicia Payne
Pictures: Jan Johannsen
Fans of small smartphones won’t like hearing this – but the Xiaomi 17 is one of the smallest models among the current top smartphones.
The Xiaomi 17 with its 6.3-inch display is one of the smaller models in the current smartphone range. Compared to the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, it’s easy to hold and the performance is identical. The battery life’s even longer, but the focal length of the telephoto camera slightly shorter.
Shorter, wider and with a smaller display
The Xiaomi 17 feels compact compared to many other smartphones I hold for testing. Still, I can’t reach the entire touchscreen with one hand. Compared to the Xiaomi 15, the new smartphone is 1.2 millimetres (mm) shorter and 0.6 mm wider. The thickness is the same as before.
The AMOLED display is smaller than its predecessor. It’s only 0.06 inches, but smaller is smaller. With a resolution of 2656 × 1220 pixels, you get a sharp picture and a refresh rate of up to 120 hertz guarantees a smooth display. 400 nits of brightness is enough for use in sunshine. In the specs, Xiaomi only mentions the HDR peak brightness of 3,500 nits, which refers to videos.
The Xiaomi 17 frame is made of aluminium and the entire casing is IP68 water and dust resistant. The smartphone can withstand 30 minutes in fresh water up to 1.5 metres deep. Dragon Crystal Glass prevents damage to the display. According to Xiaomi, it’s harder than the second generation of Kunlun glass from Huawei.
Camera system basically the same
The Xiaomi 17’s camera system has changed very little compared to its predecessor. The aperture of the main camera is minimally reduced and the ultra-wide-angle camera increases its focal length by three millimetres. The telephoto camera remains unchanged. The front camera has a higher resolution and a smaller aperture.
The main camera sensor has a smaller surface area than its Ultra sibling, but also delivers outstanding image quality. The level of detail is high, the colour reproduction intense yet natural.
In the dark, the main camera’s automatic function already delivers evenly exposed images. Night mode brings slight improvements, but is a worthwhile upgrade and is activated by default. When the camera recognises it’s too dark, it appears automatically and can be deactivated.
The ultra-wide-angle camera isn’t quite as detailed as the main camera. I notice the corners, in particular, are a bit blurred. Still, the images are fine for social media.
If you’re shooting at night, it’s worth using night mode because it lightens the shot nicely.
With a focal length of 60 millimetres, the telephoto camera has a comparatively small magnification factor of 2.6 compared to the main camera and delivers flawless quality.
Night mode’s good on the telephoto camera, too.
The front camera can’t utilise increased resolution and will produce blurred selfies in the dark. During the day, on the other hand, its images are sharp, rich in detail and convincing in terms of colour.
Lots of power and long battery life
For the performance of the Xiaomi 17, the manufacturer relies on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, currently the most powerful chipset from Qualcomm. Depending on the model version, it’s supported by 12 or 16 gigabytes of RAM. I’ve not been able to run all of our usual benchmark tests yet, as the test device is partially blocking them. In the Geekbench 6 and PCMark Work 3.0 tests conducted so far, the Xiaomi 17 is on par with other smartphones with this chipset. These include the OnePlus 15, the Realme GT8 Pro or the Honor Magic 8 Pro – and the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.
At 6,330 mAh, the battery of the Xiaomi 17 has a larger capacity than the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. The smaller smartphone lasts almost two hours longer in the PCMark Work 3.0 battery test – at half display brightness for 22:26 hours.
The Xiaomi 17 takes up to 100 watts when charging via a USB-C cable. Wirelessly, it’s up to 50 watts. To achieve these peak values, you’d need a suitable charger that supports Xiaomi’s Hypercharge fast charging technology. The phone doesn’t come with a power adapter.
HyperOS 3 with AI, interconnectivity and years of updates
Android 16 runs on the Xiaomi 17 ex works. The manufacturer provides the operating system with its HyperOS 3 interface. In addition to visual customisations and apps from Xiaomi, it comes with a range of AI tools. They complement Google’s Gemini AI assistant. With Xiaomi HyperAI, you have access to several translation tools and generative tools for images and text.
Xiaomi expands the interconnectivity of HyperOS with additional functions and devices. With a Xiaomi account, you can connect several devices and use them across the board – this also includes products from other manufacturers and with operating systems other than Android.
My biggest criticism of HyperOS is that there are (too) many pre-installed apps. In addition to the usual Google apps, there are also some functional duplicates from Xiaomi and third-party apps.
Xiaomi wants to supply the 17 series with Android updates for five years. The smartphone will also receive security updates for six years. This might not be the seven years that Google and Samsung offer, but it’s still a long time.
In a nutshell
Compact smartphone without compromises
The Xiaomi 17’s a good choice if you’re looking for a top-of-the-range compact smartphone. Compared to even larger models, you’re not missing out on anything important. The display’s great, the battery life is long and the computing power’s superb. The cameras deliver outstanding image quality – only the telephoto camera lets it down because it has a smaller focal length than on larger smartphones such as the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.
I was surprised the front camera had problems with focusing in the dark. And I’m really not a fan of the number of pre-installed apps. Luckily, they’re easy to delete.
Compared to its predecessor, the Xiaomi 15, the changes are barely noticeable. Nevertheless, with its reduced price, the one-year-old smartphone’s a tempting alternative.
Pro
- Comparatively compact
- Long battery life
- Plenty computing power
Contra
- Front camera has problems in the dark
- Many pre-installed apps
Header image: Jan Johannsen
Jan Johannsen
Senior Editor
Jan.Johannsen@galaxus.deAs a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus.
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