Xiaomi has officially introduced the 17 Pro in China, a compact flagship that blends raw power with an unusual design twist—a secondary display built into the camera island. With Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset under the hood and a price starting at CNY 4,999 (~$702), the phone looks positioned as a direct competitor to Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro.
The 17 Pro measures 151.1 x 71.8 x 8 mm and weighs 192g. For context, the Galaxy S25+ weighs almost the same but is much larger and yet packs a much smaller battery.
Up front is the same 6.3-inch LTPO AMOLED screen seen on the standard Xiaomi 17, offering a 2,656 x 1,220 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and an impressive 3,500 nits of peak brightness. Around the back is what Xiaomi calls the “Magic Back Screen”—a 2.7-inch AMOLED panel with 904 x 572 resolution, 120Hz refresh, and the same 3,500-nit brightness. It can display notifications, act as an always-on clock, or serve as a viewfinder for selfies with the rear cameras.
The camera system continues Xiaomi’s Leica partnership, featuring a 50MP Light Hunter 950L main sensor, 50MP 5x telephoto with OIS, 50MP ultra-wide, and a 50MP front camera. Xiaomi highlights a wider dynamic range and improved lens coatings for reduced glare.
Power comes from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, promising better CPU, GPU, and AI performance compared to last year’s models. The phone runs on a 6,300mAh battery with 100W wired charging—slightly smaller than the standard Xiaomi 17’s 7,000mAh, but still sizeable for the form factor.
The smaller battery is likely a trade-off for the larger 5x periscope telephoto lens (replacing the 2.6x telephoto on the standard model) and the addition of the secondary display. Even so, the trade seems worthwhile, as the 17 Pro still manages to pack over 6,000 mAh of capacity.
Pricing and availability:
Pricing starts at 4,999 yuan (about $700) for the 12GB/256GB model. Higher configurations are priced as follows:
12GB + 512GB – 5,299 yuan
16GB + 51GB – 5,599 yuan
16GB + 1TB – 5,999 yuan
The Xiaomi 17 family is already up for pre-orders in China and will hit the shelves at 10:00 AM local time on September 27. While no global launch date has been officially revealed yet, the phones are expected to cross borders sometime in early 2026. For now, the 17 Pro stands out in China as a bold attempt to rethink the flagship formula with its rear screen experiment.
(Source)
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