Introduction 

Compared to the significant changes in the Pro series, the standard Xiaomi 17’s design hasn’t undergone major alterations from its predecessors—the 13, 14, and 15. It primarily unifies the color scheme, get rid of the prominent black accent modules seen in earlier models.

Yet, the Pro Max version currently dominates China’s bestseller ranks. So, is the standard Xiaomi 17 truly unworthy of purchase due to its ordinary appearance? After a complete test, I have a clear answer.

Design and Appearance 

As mentioned earlier, the Xiaomi 17’s changes are subtle. Yet in actual use, I found its overall build quality rivals that of the iPhone 17 Pro. From the texture of the rear glass and frame finish, to the logo design and even the rounded corners of the display, it closely mirrors the iPhone. However, the Xiaomi 17 boasts a highly practical advantage: there isn’t a side button, and camera control button.

For users who always mount their phones on stands, this is a very thoughtful design. You no longer need to adjust the balance position like with iPhones, nor worry about accidental button presses.

Display and Speaker 

Although the standard model’s screen doesn’t have the new pixel arrangement used in the Pro Max version, it still holds certain advantages. Compared to the Pro Max, the standard model’s screen is slightly smaller but maintains the same resolution. So its pixel density surpasses the Pro Max and aligns more closely with the iPhone 17 Pro.

However, this display has a notable drawback: it lacks an anti-reflective coating. In bright outdoor environments, the iPhone’s display offers clearer visibility.

For users prioritizing speaker audio quality, the Xiaomi 17 may disappoint you. To show the actual differences more clearly, I will include a sound quality comparison clip with other models in this review.

Performance and Gaming 

Performance-wise, you don’t need to worry too much. Both the standard and Pro Max versions share nearly identical core hardware specs, featuring the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 processor, LPDDR5X RAM, and UFS 4.1 flash storage.

However, during testing, we saw an odd thing: our standard edition achieved approximately 3.5 million points on AnTuTu, while the Pro Max scored only 3.2 million. Yet, AnTuTu’s official benchmark results show a score of 3.7 million. This difference clearly indicates an issue.

After many testing and comparisons, we finally pinpointed the cause: the 3.7 million score could indeed be achieved on our standard Xiaomi 17—but only by putting the phone in a fridge for extreme cooling. Temperature curves in the Antutu benchmark records confirmed that the official score was obtained through fridge cooling. Even when cooled in a fridge, our Pro Max unit could only reach a maximum of 3.5 million points. At the same time, we monitored power consumption during benchmarking: under identical conditions, the Pro Max model consistently consumed less power than the standard version. This performance difference likely stems from two factors: different internal performance scheduling strategies within the system, and the physical difference of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 processor.

Fortunately, this benchmark gap doesn’t fully translate to real-world gaming performance. In Genshin Impact, the 17 performed nearly identically to the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, with only slightly lower average power consumption. However, in Honkai: Star Rail, both the 17 and 17 Pro Max began throttling after three minutes of gameplay, with the devices becoming extremely hot to the touch.

Monitoring tools revealed that GPU and memory temperatures remained low during gameplay. This indicates the upgraded vapor chamber effectively dissipates heat. However, the issue lies in Xiaomi’s design redirecting processor heat toward the battery . So when running relatively low-load games like Genshin Impact, internal heat doesn’t yet trigger the battery’s thermal throttling. Conversely, high-load games like Honkai: Star Rail would trigger that quite fast. For smoother gameplay, you must either add external cooling solutions or adjust graphics settings downward.

Additionally, when running Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, we saw subtle differences in maximum graphics settings between the Xiaomi 17 series and other phones. Comparing it to the OnePlus 13, you won’t see the difference at first glance. However, if we zoom in to check character details or ground textures, the OnePlus 13 preserves more visual fidelity.

Imaging System 

The Xiaomi 17 hasn’t seen big upgrades in its cameras. Among the four cameras on the front and back, only the main camera and front-facing camera have been upgraded. The main camera performs exceptionally well in well-lit daytime conditions, with image quality just as good as the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max.

For instance, when taking a photo of a lightbox, I captured three shots, there are noticeable color banding. The shots from the telephoto camera remains unchanged.

However, it makes mistakes in low-light or extreme lighting conditions.

The ultra-wide camera has even regressed in performance. Watch this: Opening the camera app defaults to the main lens. When switching to 0.7x zoom, did you notice anything? Now let’s focus on the carpet area and compare multiple transitions—the difference should be very clear. Worst of all, this ultra-wide lens offers a mere 17mm field of view, which feels severely cramped in today’s market.

Battery Life & Charging 

The Xiaomi 17 features a 7000mAh battery and supports 100W fast charging. This means most PPS-compatible chargers on the market can deliver 100W charging power to the device. However, in real-world testing, the peak charging speed doesn’t last long.

While initial charging power can reach 75W, it typically stabilizes around 30W for most of the charging session.

My biggest concern is rumors suggesting the global version may have a smaller battery capacity. If the global Xiaomi 17 fails to meet your endurance needs, you can purchase the Chinese version via the link in the video description.

Conclusion 

After testing the Xiaomi 17, I found it isn’t a standard flagship with defined strengths and weaknesses. Compared to last year’s model, it maintains the same price, not like the Pros that have seen a price increase. The Xiaomi 17 isn’t “mediocre” either, it’s a practical flagship focused on performance and battery life.

If these two aspects are your top priorities and you can accept compromises in its imaging system, audio quality, and other details, it delivers a solid, value-driven experience. But if you seek uncompromising, top-tier imaging capabilities, the Pro series remains the better choice. Alright, this is the review of the Xiaomi 17, hope you like it, and don’t forget to like and subscribe. This is Will from Gizmochina, see you soon.

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