Xiaomi Unveils Xiaomi 17, Xiaomi 17 Ultra, and Leica Leitzphone

Featured, Tech

by Sean Loo, March 13, 2026

Xiaomi recently launched its new Xiaomi 17 Series in Singapore.

The smartphone camera has become the great democratic creative tool of our age. We document holidays, children, meals, city lights, heartbreak, and half-eaten desserts with the same slab of glass and aluminium.

So, when Xiaomi says the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi set a new benchmark for mobile photography, it is staking ground in one of the fiercest battlegrounds in consumer technology.

The Xiaomi 17 Series adopts a minimalist language, with clean lines, smooth edges and what Xiaomi calls Golden Arc curves, all intended to create a more comfortable in-hand feel.

Xiaomi has also employed advanced LIPO manufacturing techniques to reduce the bezels, giving both devices that sleek, near-borderless appearance expected of any modern premium handset.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra, notably, is billed as the thinnest and lightest Xiaomi Ultra yet, measuring 8.29mm thick and weighing as little as 218.4g. It comes in White, Black and Starlit Green, and pairs its all-flat body with a less intrusive camera housing and improved durability through Xiaomi Guardian Structure, Xiaomi Shield Glass 3.0, a fibreglass back, an aluminium alloy frame and IP68 resistance.

The regular Xiaomi 17, meanwhile, is slimmer still at 8.06mm and weighs 191g, available in Venture Green, Alpine Pink, Ice Blue and Black.

Yet let us be honest. No one buys a Leica-branded Xiaomi handset because the bezels are tidy. They buy it because of the camera, and here the Xiaomi 17 Series makes its most serious case.

Xiaomi says the range benefits from Leica UltraPure optical lens treatment and configuration, aimed at preserving detail in both bright and low-light scenes while reducing reflections and optical interference.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the headline act. It introduces Xiaomi’s first 1-inch LOFIC main camera sensor, called the Light Fusion 1050L, using capacitor technology to boost full-well capacity and improve HDR performance.

Then comes the genuinely eye-catching bit: a Leica 200MP 75–100mm camera with mechanical optical zoom. Built to Leica APO optical references, the telephoto camera is said to maintain image quality with minimal ghosting and colour fringing throughout the zoom range, while stretching out to a 400mm equivalent focal length through sensor technology. That is a serious amount of reach for a device that still needs to fit in your pocket and survive an afternoon commute.

Video has not been neglected either. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra supports Dolby Vision or ACES Log recording at up to 4K 120fps on both the main and telephoto cameras.

The standard Xiaomi 17, meanwhile, centres its imaging system around the Light Fusion 950 sensor, supported by a Leica 60mm floating telephoto lens that offers portrait photography, optical-level zoom, close macro capture and AI-assisted zoom. There is also a 50MP front camera with improved autofocus.

Beneath all of this sits the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform, paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, depending on model. Xiaomi speaks of performance suited to rapid-fire photo and video capture, gaming, multitasking and high-clarity video calls.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra houses a 6000mAh battery with 90W wired and 50W wireless HyperCharge, while the Xiaomi 17 goes even larger with a 6330mAh unit and 100W wired, 50W wireless charging.

Both devices feature OLED panels with up to 3,500 nits of peak brightness, 1–120Hz LTPO refresh rates and DC dimming. Xiaomi 17 Ultra adds the company’s new HyperRGB technology, which redesigns the OLED subpixel layout for improved clarity and efficiency.

Then there is the Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi, which may well be the most fascinating product of the lot. Created to mark Leica’s 100-year anniversary, it brings the camera maker’s design heritage to a smartphone built in partnership with Xiaomi.

It features an aluminium-alloy body with a nickel-anodised finish, a refreshed Leica-tuned interface, a physical Leica Camera Ring with knurling, and a Leica Essential mode that recreates the imaging style of classic Leica cameras such as the M9 and M3, including MONOPAN 50 film.