Xiaomi 17 Ultra Review: photography at the highest levels

Already during the Xiaomi 15 Ultra review from last year, we highlighted how Leica’s partnership had transformed that device into a true ‘camera with phone features’, more than a simple smartphone. Well, this precise direction, now evident for the Asian company, is pushed further with the new Xiaomi 17 Ultra: a device expressly designed for those who really want to shoot, aiming to be a more than credible alternative to compact cameras.

From the very first days of testing this new flagship, the impression was that we were facing the culmination of an evolution started with the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. After the evolution of the camera hardware seen on previous models, this 17 Ultra seems to raise image quality to the physical maximum allowed by the footprint of a smartphone, also thanks to some genuinely interesting hardware touches, such as a new sensor and a physical optical zoom system.

Let’s be clear, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra remains a premium smartphone in every sense and, naturally, is not free of flaws. In short, rather than drastically changing the previous generation’s design, the brand chose to refine it, and the result is a decidedly more mature and optimized device that, while winking at image purists, is capable of satisfying the needs of anyone seeking excellence in mobile. With all the pros and cons that come with it.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Review: photography at the highest levels

Xiaomi 17 Ultra video review

Cameras

With a smartphone of this caliber, the review starts inevitably with the camera system, which is undeniably the heart of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. The entire system has been redesigned to raise the bar for optical performance in the mobile world, not only on the software side but especially on the hardware side. And the difference is evident.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra adopts a triple-camera system consisting of a 14 mm ultra-wide, a Leica 23 mm main camera with a 1-inch sensor, and a Leica 200 MP telephoto with a real variable optical zoom equivalent to 75-100 mm. It is clear that the brand’s goal is to coherently cover virtually every shooting scenario: landscape, street photography, portrait, and night photography. But the real difference lies not only in focal lengths, but in the quality of the optical architecture and in how the three cameras interact with each other.

The main camera is based on a new 1-inch Light Fusion 1050L sensor, featuring LOFIC HDR technology. This is a crucial difference compared to typical CMOS sensors, because it allows a full-well capacity up to 6.3 times higher than the previous 1-inch sensor used by the previous generation. Put simply, it means a much wider ability to accumulate light information before the pixels saturate. The practical result is most noticeable in high-contrast scenes, such as strong backlighting or nighttime environments with intense artificial lights. Highlights are handled with greater control and shadows retain more detail without resorting to aggressive, artificial HDR.

LOFIC HDR technology operates directly at hardware level in exposure management, truly improving dynamic range handling. This allows preserving detail in the brightest and darkest areas simultaneously, with a more natural and less