After months of rumors and anticipation, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has released its iPhone 17 Pro Max and Galaxy S25 Ultra rival: the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition (in addition to the regular Ultra version).
At first glance, it’s one of the best camera-focused smartphones we’ve seen this year, with a circular rear camera and a physical zoom ring (similar to DSLR cameras).
Why Xiaomi’s zoom ring is more than a gimmick
At the heart of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra’s camera setup is a 200 MP (f/2.4-2.9, 1/1.4″) periscope telephoto camera that offers a continuous zoom from 75 mm (f/2.4, 3.2x) to 100 mm (f/2.9, 4.3x). The phone achieves this using two fixed telephoto lenses (with different focal lengths) and digital interpolation between them.
Typically, smartphones don’t offer continuous optical zoom because they lack the necessary hardware (which is present on DSLR or mirrorless camera lenses). However, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra offers a breakthrough in this regard, with a continuous zoom range of 3.2x to 4.3x.
Additionally, you can control the optical zoom range by rotating the outer edge of the camera module, just like a DSLR. In addition to focal length, the zoom ring also helps the user adjust exposure compensation, white balance, and likely other options available in Pro mode.
In addition to the 200 MP zoom camera, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has a 50 MP primary camera (f/1.7) and a 50 MP ultra-wide-angle camera (f/2.2) with autofocus functions. Xiaomi has also integrated a time-of-flight sensor, which is said to improve edge detection in portrait mode and improve the camera’s focusing capabilities.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra can record 8K videos at 30 fps, 4K videos at 120 fps (limited to 4K at 60 fps on the front camera) and 1080p videos at up to 1920 fps. On the regular Xiaomi 17 Ultra, you get a similar camera setup, except for the mechanical zoom ring around the camera. The camera optics on both phones were developed in collaboration with Leica.
Cameras aside, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra checks every flagship box
Once you’re done admiring the smartphone’s rear camera module, turn your attention to the 6.9-inch 12-bit OLED LTPO screen, which reaches a peak brightness of 3,500 nits and supports a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. The phone supports various HDR formats including HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.
Under the hood, both Xiaomi 17 Ultra variants run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset (with the Adreno 840 GPU), feature up to 16GB of RAM (LPDDR5X), 1TB of storage (UFS 4.1), and a 6,800mAh Si/C battery that supports 100W wired charging and 80W wireless charging.
Out of the box, the flagship runs Xiaomi’s HyperOS 3.0 user interface, which is based on Android 16. In terms of price, the base model Xiaomi 17 Ultra (12GB + 512GB) costs CNY 6,999 in China, about $996 in the US, while the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition (16GB + 512GB) costs CNY 7,999 or about $1,136.16.
Although Xiaomi has confirmed the global availability of its Ultra flagship, there is no confirmation of its arrival in the United States (although a recent FCC listing offers some hope).
