In the United States, discussions about the best camera phones focus largely on iPhones, the Samsung Galaxy series, and lately the Google Pixel. On the other hand, people in Asia and parts of Europe have a wider range of choices thanks to companies like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo upping their camera game.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which recently had its global launchis one such device, with a big camera bump that houses a versatile array of sensors and a partnership with popular German camera maker Leica to provide software-level tweaks and sensitivities to how scenes are shot.
The camera offers many options, from different focal lengths on the hardware side to various filters and settings to change the appearance of the final image.
Xiaomi has also released external add-ons that snap onto the camera like a cover, as well as a USB accessory that provides hardware buttons for shooting video or photos. While these add-ons don’t add a lot of functionality, they do make using the camera one-handed easier.
Apart from the camera, Xiaomi has packed its phone with premium components to compete with the best phones of the year. I’ll talk about the camera in detail, but let me put the rest of the hardware description aside.
Material
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, we find a 6.9-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1200 x 2608 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
The screen is quite bright with a peak brightness of 3,500 nits. This is convenient for using the phone in bright conditions and also makes for a good video watching experience.
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The 6,000 mAh battery is probably one of the best results of the silicon/carbon technology used by Xiaomi. Considering the size of the battery, it can last a few days on light to medium usage, and also offers good standby time. Although the battery is big, the phone is still lighter than the iPhone Pro Max, so that’s also a win for the company’s engineering team.
The phone supports 90W wired charging and you can use the charger provided by Xiaomi 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 uses a 50-megapixel 1-inch sensor with an f/1.67 aperture for the main camera, aiming to gather more light. The camera takes sharp, vibrant photos without losing white balance. The sensor is effective in capturing details in different lighting conditions. Just like the iPhone Pro Max, with the main camera you can switch to 23mm, 28mm, and 35mm equivalent framing.
The phone has a rather 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, it doesn’t seem like much, but when you take photos of pets or frame certain objects in the frame, it is very convenient. One limitation is that on the camera UI you can easily switch to focal lengths of 75mm, 85mm, 90mm and 100mm, but you have to press the zoom control and move around in the dialer if you need to access other focal lengths between 75mm and 100mm.
The company uses a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture. This lens is also useful for taking very impressive macro photos. This camera is more than sufficient, but it loses a little detail compared to the other two cameras in certain shots. There is also a 50-megapixel selfie camera, but don’t forget to turn off all beauty filters.
The camera controls are a standard affair, but the options allowing you to get a photo of an object in different looks are plentiful. By default, the camera follows an authentic Leica color palette, but with a single click you can change it to Leica Vibrant. There is a filter option that gives you options such as positive and negative films; Leica-specific filters like Vivid, Natural, Black & White, Sepia and Blue; and Xiaomi’s own filters like Cinematic, Monsoon, Teal Mist and Scarlet.
The company’s two add-ons are called The 17 Ultra Photography Kit and The 17 Ultra Photography Kit Pro. The basic version acts like a case and attaches directly to the phone. It connects to the phone via Bluetooth, has a two-stage shutter release (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 contains a case and another camera grip-style controller that attaches 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 easily hold the phone with one hand.
Above the grip is a dedicated shutter button and video recording button. There’s also another customizable dial that can control exposure, filters, ISO, shutter speed, or white balance. You can also use this watch face to browse the gallery. The Pro Kit also comes with a ring into which you can insert compatible 67mm camera filters.
I used the Pro Kit regularly while roaming the streets because I could easily grip the phone with one hand and take photos with a good number of camera controls at my fingertips. Plus, using a camera-style add-on made taking photos and videos fun. I really appreciated having hardware zoom control.
Both kits enable a software fastshot mode within the camera, which has easily accessible controls for street photography.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra will face competition in the global market from upcoming devices such as the Vivo X300 Ultra, which also has a swanky photography kit including a 2.35x telephoto lens, and the Oppo Find X9. But due to the early launch of its phone, Xiaomi could take advantage of this momentum. Besides the camera, the phone packs a punch if you accept a large camera body on the back.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra starts at €1,499 in Europe. The Photography Kit is priced at €99.99 and the Pro Photography Kit is priced at €199.99.
