Some partnerships are just meant to be. Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. Sir Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Steven Gerrard and Liverpool. Xiaomi and Leica. It is quite remarkable the photography approach insists on realism, in an era where phone makers and their camera making partners are increasingly relying on artificially intelligent boost for everything in the frame. It may work for some, but absolutely not for purists. Two phones remain a distinct rarity in these times. The Apple iPhone 17 Pro series, and Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra with Leica’s foundational expertise. This is the standard Ultra flagship, and some may remember HT reviewed the Xiaomi 17 Ultra By Leica first in India, later announced for some markets as the Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi. There are some differences.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra goes on sale in India in a single variant (16GB + 512GB), albeit in white and black colour options, with a price tag of ₹1,39,999. There is certainly an argument for a gorgeous and sparkly Starlit Green colour for India. That’s approximately how much flagships cost in this day and age, nothing away from general norms in that regard. Between the Chinese version and this global iteration, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra gets a slightly smaller battery comparatively (6,000 mAh versus 6,800 mAh) but still significantly more than the predecessor, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s 5,410 mAh capacity. Everything else is the same, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, the memory and storage combination, a gorgeous to use 6.9-inch OLED display, as well as the camera system. All specs, are top notch.
The camera troika his led by 50-megapixel Light Fusion 1050L, a 1-inch sensor, the type that is fast disappearing from smartphones as phone makers use smaller sensors and then prioritise aggressive AI processing to make for the loss of any hardware driven details. That isn’t it—this is also the world’s first phone with a LOFIC sensor (that’s short for Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor). Instead of combining multiple exposures that lead to motion blur, this sensor uses a specialised component to sift excess light from bright areas in any single shot (think of this as a safety valve, holding back any extra amount). It, in our experience, effectively solves the often complicated issue of high-contrast scenes (that is, bright sky vs. dark shadow) where phone cameras typically either blow out highlights or over-darken shadows. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra plays the balancing act, brilliantly.
Xiaomi’s LOFIC technology finds the right foundation with a 1-inch sensor. The full well capacity is 6.3x more than the predecessor’s sensor, which means this is capable of handling much higher light levels and thereby you’ll notice better dynamic range in complex (specifically, backlighting too) lighting scenarios.
For zoom up to 120x (this is continuous zoom; most appreciated when you switch from the Xiaomi 17 Ultra to a flagship that doesn’t have this), Xiaomi is using a Leica 200-megapixel 75-100mm optical zoom telephoto camera with three matched lens groups and a prism. This 1/1.4-inch large telephoto sensor is used throughout this range, and the key takeaways are native 200-megapixel image quality without any digital cropping. The third piece is a 50-megapixel ultra wide lens which is Samsung’s JN5 sensor.
Everything that Xiaomi and Leica have done, is simply working towards a better balance between shadows and brighter highlights, without blown-out areas, and certainly closer to how a human eye perceives a scene. This is a camera that you can aim straight in the direction of the late afternoon sun and still get the depth of every tree, branch and leaf in the frame. You can also zoom in at 60x or 80x with stable enough hands, keep the AI detailing boost off, and still capture a ladybug on a flower. Or the sheer brilliance of brightly lit structures backgrounded by an inky black sky.
Xiaomi has upgraded the video recording aspect with the 17 Ultra, and you’ll prefer the 4K Dolby Vision at either 60fps or 120fps, and the results are really on point—particularly with details, though one could complain colours in this video recording method are a smidgen subdued. That said, motion tracking autofocus can occasionally stumble if the subject is moving fast. And if it’s about stabilisation, this sits a notch behind the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
There is little to complain about the Xiaomi 17 Ultra’s design, which is extremely refined. The black colour variant that I’ve used extensively all these days, looks gorgeous, and that isn’t something that can be often said for phones with an understated colour choice. There is a very subtle texture on the back, visible when light bounces off it at certain angles. It also feels much lighter than an iPhone 17 Pro Max. Must appreciate Xiaomi’s attention to detail with the different shaping for the volume keys and the power button, which sit on the same side spine. But it will take some time for a slightly realigned hand positioning to become muscle memory, because otherwise, fingers tend to fight for the same space as where the textured circumference of the camera island is.
The proverbial cherry atop the Xiaomi 17 Ultra’s experiential cake, is the excellent battery life. I’ve been able to get two days of fairy diverse usage from this phone, before it drops to 20% charge level, and it’s time for a splash and dash. And with 90-watts wired charge speeds (and 50-watt wireless, if you get the correct charging accessory), this should take just more than half an hour to be ready for a couple of days more.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra, is really as close as it gets to a flawless Android flagship at this moment. At least as far as the specs in place, the camera tuning with Leica’s expertise very much at play, and under the hood optimisations for battery life and thermals. There really is no app or use case that’ll make this phone heat up or betray any signs of stutter. Software may be a conversation for some, though I have no complaints with HyperOS across any of my usage habits. I’d place the Xiaomi 17 Ultra above the Vivo X300 Pro and the Oppo Find X9 Pro, and alongside the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra in terms of overall refinement and very different approaches to photography. Both will find an audience. Yet, it is nigh impossible to not fall in love with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.
