Xiaomi Unveils 17 Ultra and 17 Ultra Leica Edition With 1-inch Main Camera and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

^Xiaomi

2025 is about to come to a close, but before we flip our calendars to January next year, Xiaomi has unveiled its greatest and most powerful smartphone to date—the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. Announced on Christmas Day in China, the new flagship is now, for the first time ever, available in both a standard model and a Leica Edition, offering even more advanced features.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra

Built around Leica’s photography philosophies, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra features a triple-camera array co-engineered with Leica. Leading the setup is a 50MP Light Fusion 1050L 1-inch main sensor with LOFIC technology. This is paired with a 50MP ultrawide camera with autofocus and a 200MP Samsung HPE 1/1.4-inch sensor behind a periscope telephoto lens, enabling continuous optical zoom.

Up front, the device sports a large 6.9-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and peak brightness of up to 3,500 nits. The display is protected by Xiaomi’s own Dragon Crystal Glass 3.0 and houses a 50MP front-facing camera for selfies, along with an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.

Powering the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. Out of the box, it runs HyperOS 3.0, bringing a suite of new AI features that enhance overall performance and make photography handling smoother and more efficient.

To support its high-end hardware, Xiaomi equipped the 17 Ultra with a 6,800mAh silicon-carbon (SiC) battery. It supports 90W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, and 22.5W reverse wired charging. Other notable features include IP68/IP69 dust and water resistance, an IR blaster, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, stereo speakers, and satellite communication support.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is manufactured with an aluminum chassis and glass on both front and back. The volume rocker gets a new individual round buttons right above the power button. The new 17 Ultra is available in Black, Cool Smoke Purple, Starry Green, and White color options.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition

The new Leica Edition is the first in the series to officially sport the iconic red Leica emblem since the partnership began three years ago. However, the upgrade goes beyond branding. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition features a dual-tone design inspired by Leica M-series cameras, serrated side patterns for improved ergonomics, and several exclusive design markings.

In terms of hardware, the Leica Edition shares the same core specifications as the standard 17 Ultra but adds exclusive features such as a new mechanical zoom ring around the camera module. This ring is highly customizable, allowing users to adjust focal length, exposure, and white balance. It also introduces special Leica Moment modes with a 3:2 aspect ratio for a more authentic photographic experience.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition is available in Black and Off-White color options and comes in a special retail box that includes a lens cap, lanyard, magnetic case, and a cleaning cloth.

Pricing and Availability

Both the standard Xiaomi 17 Ultra and the Leica Edition are now available in China via Xiaomi’s official online store. The standard Xiaomi 17 Ultra is priced at CNY 6,999 for the 12GB/512GB variant and goes up to CNY 8,499 for the 16GB/1TB configuration.

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition starts at CNY 7,999 for the 16GB/512GB model and CNY 8,999 for the 16GB/1TB variant.