Xiaomi 17T Series Review: The Sweet Spot Between Price and Performance

Xiaomi has announced two new smartphones for global markets today, the Xiaomi 17T and Xiaomi 17T Pro. I’ve had the privilege of using these two phones for the past couple of weeks, and I do have some thoughts to share with you. In this Xiaomi 17T review, we’ll talk about both of these smartphones, which seemed like the best way to do it. I used them at the same time, and many of you will try to decide between the two. So this will be both a review and a comparison in one.

It is worth noting that the Xiaomi 17T Pro is a notably more powerful phone between the two, mainly due to its processor. However, they do have plenty of similarities as well. The Xiaomi 17T Pro does have some advantages, which we’ll mention here, of course. With that being said, let’s see if these two phones are worth your hard-earned cash.

Xiaomi 17T

€749+

A compelling mid-ranger that punches above its weight in performance, display, and battery — without asking too much in return.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Ideal size
• Good build quality
• Comforable to hold and use
• Great display
• Solid performance
• Great battery life
• Fast charging
• Charger included in the box
• Very good camera performance
• Good audio output

Cons

• Ultrawide camera is not that great
• No wireless charging
• HyperOS oddities

Disclaimer

Xiaomi supplied us with a review unit of the Xiaomi 17T, but didn’t have a say in our opinion, nor did they see this review before you. We’ve been using the device for around two weeks before forming an opinion.

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Xiaomi 17T Pro

€899+

Near-flagship power, a stunning display, and a low-light camera that leaves its sibling in the dust — at a price that still makes sense.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Very comfortable to hold and use
• Outstanding display
• Excellent performance
• Great battery life
• Fast wired and wireless charging
• 100W charger included
• Very good camera performance
• Quality sound output

Cons

• Ultrawide camera is not that great
• HyperOS oddities

Disclaimer

Xiaomi supplied us with a review unit of the Xiaomi 17T Pro, but didn’t have a say in our opinion, nor did they see this review before you. We’ve been using the device for around two weeks before forming an opinion.

Buy from

Specs

Xiaomi 17T Series Review: Design

Unlike last year’s models, there is actually a size difference between the two phones this time around. The Xiaomi 17T is smaller than the Xiaomi 17T Pro, as it has a 6.59-inch display, compared with a 6.83-inch display on the Xiaomi 17T Pro. The two phones do look the same, other than the size and color difference, though. Once again, you’re getting phones with flat displays and a centered display camera hole up top.

Thin and uniform bezels

The bezels around both displays are thin and uniform, while the frame is flat all around. Once again, the frame on the base model is made out of plastic, while the Xiaomi 17T Pro comes with an aluminum frame. In all honesty, you won’t be able to notice the difference, so that is really not something that should bother you. Both smartphones include a glass-fiber-reinforced plastic back. So it is plastic, but… reinforced plastic. You really can’t tell the difference, so that’s another detail that shouldn’t worry you.

Both smartphones have power/lock and volume up and down keys on the right-hand side. There’s nothing on the left side or the top, not even an IR blaster. At the bottom, you’re getting your usual Type-C port, loudspeaker, and a SIM card tray. The backplate is flat on both phones, and both of them have a square camera island in the top-left corner. Three cameras sit inside both of those, though the hardware is not identical. Those camera islands do protrude on the back, but not much.

They’re slippery, but not too slippery

In all honesty, both phones are quite slippery, but not as slippery as some other devices. Both of them have a matte frame, at least on the Blue and Deep Blue colors that we got to review. Both smartphones are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance as well. They feel really good to hold and use, though the Xiaomi 17T is a bit easier to use with one hand, as it is smaller. Still, the difference is not that big, and in terms of ergonomics, both are good. The frame on both phones does curve a bit towards the edges, which also helps with in-hand feel. All in all, the in-hand feel is similar to what the Xiaomi 15T series offered.

Xiaomi 17T Series Review: What’s in the Box?

You’ll like what you’ll get inside the retail boxes with these two smartphones. Why? Well, because both of them come with chargers on the inside, but with a case as well. In the case of the Xiaomi 17T, you’re getting a 67W charger, while the Xiaomi 17T Pro includes a 100W charger. Furthermore, both phones come with a nice silicone case, which offers good protection. USB-A to USB-C charging cables are also included, of course, along with some paperwork and a SIM card ejector tool.

Xiaomi 17T Series Review: Display

Xiaomi opted to include two different displays in the Xiaomi 17T series this time around. The Xiaomi 17T has a smaller 6.59-inch AMOLED display, with a resolution of 2756 x 1268 pixels, and a 120Hz refresh rate. The Xiaomi 17T Pro, on the flip side, includes a 6.83-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2772 x 1280 pixels and a 144Hz refresh rate. Both of these panels have a peak brightness of 3,500 nits, while both also support HDR10+ content and Dolby Vision. A 3,840Hz PWM dimming and DC dimming are also on board both panels, along with a handful of TUV ratings for eye protection. Both displays are also protected by the Gorilla Glass 7i.

Great, bright displays that protect your eyes

It is worth noting that the Xiaomi 17T’s brightness is tuned lower than the Xiaomi 17T Pro’s brightness for some reason. At least that was the case for me out of the box, on adaptive/auto brightness. I had to train it throughout the day to adapt, but once I did that, it was very reliable and consistent. Both of these displays are plenty sharp and plenty bright for basically any condition. I had both rainy days and very sunny days during my usage, and I never felt like I lacked brightness. After the initial adjustment to my needs, both also adapted really well automatically.

There’s plenty of display customization on board as well

The Xiaomi 17T Pro does technically have a higher refresh rate, and while I did notice a slight difference in general use of the two devices while scrolling around, most people will not. It’s very minimal, and quite frankly, very few people will care. Both phones utilize high refresh rates very well, and there’s not much to complain about in that regard. You can also tweak each display to your preference in terms of color/tone in the settings, and there are a bevvy of eye care features included as well. These two panels are better than some displays on much more expensive phones I’ve used, so… I really don’t have any notable complaints. They also provide a very similar experience overall.

Xiaomi 17T Series Review: Performance

These two phones both come with chips from MediaTek, but they’re notably different offerings. The Xiaomi 17T includes the MediaTek Dimensity 8500-Ultra processor, while the Xiaomi 17T Pro comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chip. What’s the difference? Well, the former is one of the company’s most powerful mid-range chips, while the latter is literally the most powerful processor that MediaTek has to offer. It’s also worth noting that both smartphones come with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 flash storage, as both of those tie in directly into the performance aspect of the devices.

LPDDR5X RAM + UFS 4.1 used on both phones

Both of these phones are very speedy in day-to-day use. Fast RAM and storage help the matter, but both of those chips are quite powerful. Yes, the Dimensity 9500 is the better option for gaming, but quite frankly, during regular use, even power use, both will do the trick just fine. The performance on both phones was very fluid, and I really had to do my worst to get the Dimensity 9500 to reveal it’s more powerful. If you’re not a true power user and don’t plan on playing any games on your device, the Xiaomi 17T will do just fine in terms of performance, no doubt about it. The Xiaomi 17T Pro, on the other hand, essentially offers flagship-level performance.

The Xiaomi 17T Pro is better for gaming, but both do a good job

No, games are not a problem for either phone. The Xiaomi 17T Pro did show its prowess with Genshin Impact, but the Xiaomi 17T also offers great gaming performance. Both of them did fantastic with COD: Mobile, and with several other, easier-to-run games that I’ve played, including Subway Surfers and 3D Pool, amongst several others. Overheating was not a problem, nor was excessive heat in general. You can see the benchmarks below.

Benchmarks:

We usually do three types of benchmarks, but AnTuTu and 3DMark were blocked at the time of writing this review. That’s why only Geekbench is listed below. That’s why we couldn’t get the thermals for 3DMark’s Wildlife Extreme Stress Test as well.

Geekbench:

Thermals:

Genshin Impact thermals:

Xiaomi 17T Series Review: Battery Life

The Xiaomi 17T Pro does have a larger battery than the Xiaomi 17T, but then again, it has a larger display and a more power-demanding chip. The point here is, though, that both phones have plenty of battery capacity to go around. Xiaomi used silicon-carbon tech in both of these smartphones. The Xiaomi 17T comes with a 6,500mAh battery, while the Xiaomi 17T Pro includes a 7,000mAh. I expected that to be more than enough to power them through even the most demanding days, and I was right.

They offer great battery life, both of them

In all honesty, unless you’re really trying to deplete these two phones before the end of the day, you will not be able to. Even with heavy use, both smartphones were able to last until the end of the day for me. I did realize that the camera and gaming were the biggest power draws, though, as expected. 4K video recording in particular did hit the battery quite considerably, but both phones still managed to last. I took plenty of pictures, some video content, consumed a ton of Instagram and TikTok, wrote emails, messaged, browsed, and did some image editing as well. On top of that, I also threw in some gaming, and I didn’t manage to kill either phone.

They can go well above 6 hours of SoT

I was consistently getting 6+ hours of screen-on time on both phones, with plenty of juice left in the tank. The two of them were actually quite similar when it comes to battery life, for me. I did use Wi-Fi most of the time, 5G was in use around 30% on average, on some days more, on some less. I didn’t notice a major difference, at least not within the city limits, where I spent all my time during these reviews. My signal/cell reception was very good throughout the experience, so keep that in mind.

Fast charging is on board as well

What about charging? The Xiaomi 17T supports 67W wired and 22.5W reverse wired charging. The Xiaomi 17T Pro ups that to 100W wired, 50W wireless, and 22.5W reverse wired charging. Yes, the Xiaomi 17T Pro can charge up faster. You’ll also be glad to know that chargers are included with both smartphones, so you don’t have to think about buying them separately. You can see charge times in the table below.

Xiaomi 17T Series Review: Camera

What about the cameras? Well, while the ultrawide, periscope telephoto, and selfie camera situation is identical between the two phones, their main cameras are different. The Xiaomi 17T Pro does have a better main snapper. Let’s talk about those first, and we’ll circle back to the others. The main camera on the Xiaomi 17T is a 50-megapixel unit, with a Light Fusion 800 image sensor. That’s a 1/1.55-inch sensor, and it’s backed by an f/1.7 aperture here. The Xiaomi 17T Pro, on the other hand, also has a 50-megapixel main camera, but it uses the Light Fusion 950 sensor. That’s a larger 1/1.31-inch sensor, and it’s backed by an f/1.67 aperture lens. Both of those cameras offer a default focal length of 23mm, and Leica lenses are used all around.

The main cameras are different, but ultrawide & periscope telephoto are not

What about the other cameras? Well, for the ultrawide one, Xiaomi opted for a 12-megapixel snapper with an f/2.2 aperture and a 120-degree FoV. That goes for both phones. Both devices also have a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera with an f/3.0 aperture. That camera offers a 5x optical zoom and up to 120x AI Ultra Zoom. It has OIS support, and that’s the camera you’ll use for macro photos (30cm). The front camera on the two devices is a 32-megapixel unit with an f/2.2 aperture and a 90-degree FoV.

When it comes to the actual performance, things are quite interesting. During the day, both phones do a really good job. You will notice that the Xiaomi 17T Pro does offer a bit more detail in some shots, but many of them are not easy to tell apart. Things do change drastically in low light, however. The Xiaomi 17T Pro does a lot better with details, sharpness, balance, and dynamic range. It’s quite honestly a jarring difference between the two cameras.

Ultrawide cameras are the least impressive ones

The ultrawide cameras should offer the same performance, and they do, at times. We’re guessing that it differs due to the chip difference. The Xiaomi 17T Pro comes out on top most of the time, but at times the Xiaomi 17T takes the cake. With that being said, the ultrawide camera is notably below the main ones in terms of quality, especially the main one used in the Xiaomi 17T Pro. The periscope telephoto camera does a good job on both phones, and we’re glad to see that this is a telemacro camera. It does a good job in general, though a drop in quality is noticeable in low light. It’s best for use in good lighting, something similar to the ultrawide snapper.

Xiaomi 17T camera samples:

Xiaomi 17T Pro camera samples:

Camera UI:

4K video recording thermals:

Xiaomi 17T Series Review: Software

The Xiaomi 17T series phones come with Android 16, with Xiaomi’s HyperOS 3 on top of it. It’s not exactly a secret I’m not the biggest fan of HyperOS, for a number of reasons, but it does work well, as per usual. HyperOS 3 does offer a somewhat different experience than you’re used to, if you haven’t used it just yet. The general usage is the same, but Xiaomi did change some things that… quite frankly, didn’t require changing, which is the main reason why this is not my favorite UI. Those things, that I’ve talked about quite a few times thus far, are still present here. Let’s go through some of the negatives first, and then we’ll get to the positives.

HyperOS is not the most reliable Android skin, but it’s very capable

In the last two years, I’ve used two devices HyperOS 3 devices that had a problem with updates, and a friend of mine had the same issue. I’m not saying that will happen with either of these, but it’s something that managed to annoy me very much and it’s hard to ignore it, as that issue has been around for a long time. So, sometimes, when HyperOS updates are ongoing, the phones can go into bootloop. Getting them out of it is possible via recovery, but the easiest issue, which took me way too long to realize, is to ditch the SIM card before updating. Once again, I’m not saying it will happen here, but considering I’ve seen it happen three times thus far, it’s something I’m aware of.

Xiaomi also did a rather counterproductive choice in HyperOS when it comes to status bar icons. By default, you can see only one notification icon there, and there’s a way to change that to three via settings. That makes no sense whatsoever as there’s plenty of space there. Having those notification icons in the status bar is one of the main advantages of Android for me personally, and a handful of people I talked to, so I really don’t see the point of this. Xiaomi also decided to block third-party launchers entirely when you’re using navigation gestures since Google messed up the APIs. It’s true that third-party launchers generally don’t run great on many Chinese phones, but instead of blockign them, the company could have fixed the issue, as Samsung did. This is actually something that annoys quite a few people on Reddit, for years now. Those are just a couple of examples of annoyances in HyperOS.

It offers great animations, smooth operation, and a significant level of customization

If we put that to the side, HyperOS 3 is actually very good. It seems to me that not many people care about its shortcomings. Many people seem to enjoy HyperOS quite a bit, actually. That’s becuase it does have a lot to offer. The animations in HyperOS are great, and both of these phones can show that off nicely. The experience is very smooth and quite frankly enjoyable. Xiaomi has some of the better animations around. HyperOS 3 also works, for the most part, like any other major Android skin, which is good.

You do get a considerable level of customization here as well. It’s not the best around, but it’s quite good. You can tweak the lock screen quite a bit, and the same goes for the home screen. You do have access to Always-On Display (AOD), which is quite good, by the way, while some additional gestures and options are available as well. Yes, you can get floating windows going as well, and that works really well too. I did notice that it works better on the Xiaomi 17T Pro, though, the experience is smoother due to the added power of the phone.

Xiaomi’s HyperAI suite is also on board

Xiaomi also offers a ton of AI options as part of its ‘HyperAI’ suite. You have AI Dynamic Wallpapers there, AI Writing, AI Creativity Assistant, AI Speech Recognition, AI Subtitles, and more. Just like many other Android OEMs, Xiaomi is also doing its best to offer a rich suite of AI functionality. I’ve tried out AI Subtitles and AI Speech Recognition, which work well, for the most part. All in all, HyperOS 3 is a very capable Android skin, as long as you don’t mind some of its shortcomings.

Xiaomi 17T Series Review: Audio

Both the Xiaomi 17T and Xiaomi 17T Pro come with stereo speakers on board. Both of them include two speakers, along with Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio support. They also offer Hi-Res Wireless certifications, and are equipped with Bluetooth 6.0. There is no audio jack included on either phone, however. Their Type-C ports do support wired audio connections, though.

The sound quality coming out of the speakers is good, very good, actually. If you’re not particularly picky, you’ll like what these two phones have to offer in both terms of loudness and general audio quality. One thing to note is that the ‘Pro’ model has slightly louder speakers than the regular one, but the difference is not that big at all.

Xiaomi 17T Series Review: Should you buy it?

Xiaomi once again managed to bring to life two very compelling upper-mid-range, almost flagship smartphones. In fact, the ‘Pro’ model can even be considered a high-end offering from the company. Both of them have really good performance, excellent displays, great battery life, and capable cameras. We’re glad to see that Xiaomi went with telemacro shooters here, and Leica lenses are always good to see. Yes, both of these phones are inferior to the Xiaomi 17 series, but the ‘Pro’ model in particular is not far behind. If they are within your budget, they’re definitely worth considering.

You should buy the Xiaomi 17T Series if you:

• want great performance, but don’t want to break the bank
• need a great dislay on your phone
• appreciate strong battery life
• don’t want to buy a charger separately
• like what HyperOS offers
• don’t need the best camera performance, but still have standards

You shouldn’t buy the Xiaomi 17T Series if you:

• want a high-end camera performance
• are picky about software

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