Xiaomi 17 series is here with a wild second screen and massive batteries

Xiaomi has dropped its new flagship lineup, the Xiaomi 17 series, in China. It’s also become the first brand to pack Qualcomm’s all-new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset into a phone.

The new family includes three models the Xiaomi 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max (where have we heard those names before?). The Pro variants are with a unique secondary screen on the back and some seriously huge batteries.

A familiar lineup

The real head-turner on the Pro and Pro Max models is the secondary display planted on the back. It wraps around the camera lenses, functioning much like the cover screen on a modern flip phone. You can use it as a viewfinder for taking selfies with the powerful main cameras, control your music, or check interactive widgets.

Xiaomi is even offering an official case that turns it into a retro handheld with functional buttons. The 17 Pro sports a 6.3-inch display, while the Pro Max goes bigger with a 6.9-inch screen.

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Both pack a Leica-tuned triple 50MP camera system, though the Pro Max gets a superior telephoto sensor for better low-light zoom shots. They also support 100W wired and 50W wireless charging. Fast charging is important here considering the phones’ humongous batteries: a 6,300mAh cell in the Pro and a 7,500mAh in the Pro Max.

As for the standard Xiaomi 17, it might look a bit more conventional without the rear screen but it’s no slouch. It shares the same 6.3-inch size and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip as the Pro. It also features a similar 50MP triple camera array. Surprisingly, its 7,000mAh battery is actually larger than the one in the 17 Pro. The whole lineup runs Android 16 with Xiaomi’s new HyperOS 3.0 skin.

All three phones are up for preorder in China now ahead of a September 27 release. Pricing starts at ¥4,499 (around Rs 56,000) for the Xiaomi 17, with the Pro and Pro Max coming in at ¥4,999 (around Rs 62,100) and ¥5,999 (around Rs 74,564) respectively.

A global launch will likely follow in the spring of next year. In India, expect these phones to be priced slightly higher as usual.