Xiaomi 17 Ultra Ranks Among Best, Beats Honor Magic 8 Pro on DXOMARK

Review Snapshot

What We Liked

• Elite camera system ranked among the world's best by DxOMark.
• Innovative periscope telephoto with continuous optical zoom and zoom ring control.
• Stunning, high-brightness LTPO AMOLED display with advanced features.
• Powerful hardware capable of flagship-level performance.
• High-quality video recording capabilities including 8K and Dolby Vision HDR.

Where It Falls Short

• Design may be polarizing, especially the standard model without the mechanical zoom ring.
• Battery life and real-world performance are unverified without full reviews.
• Faces intense competition from other top-tier camera phones like the Vivo X200 Ultra.
• Ultimate value proposition is unclear without confirmed pricing.

Phone cameras keep getting better, and the fight to be number one is seriously intense. So here's the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, jumping right into the ring. It's got a big claim from the start, scoring a spot in the top six on DxOMark's global camera list. It even beat the Honor Magic 8 Pro. But a high score is one thing, you know? Does this phone actually feel like a complete, great flagship when you use it? Let's look at what we know to see if its camera skills are enough to win you over.

Design & Build Quality

Looking at the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, you can tell it's a phone where the camera came first. It's built to feel premium, which is what you'd expect. The most interesting part is there seem to be two versions. You've got the standard Xiaomi 17 Ultra and a "Leica Edition." Here's the kicker, the Leica one has a real mechanical zoom ring built around the camera bump. The regular model doesn't. It feels like Xiaomi is splitting its flagship line, offering a photographer's tool with the Leica model and a more normal looking phone with the standard version. We haven't held it yet, so we can't say how it feels in your hand. But adding a dedicated zoom ring tells you exactly who this phone is for, people who take their pictures very seriously.

Display Quality

Just going by the specs, the display on the 17 Ultra looks fantastic. According to GSMArena, it's a high-end LTPO AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate for super smooth scrolling. It supports a huge range of colors and packs in premium video features like Dolby Vision and HDR10+. One spec that really stands out is the peak brightness, rated at a massive 3500 nits. That should mean you'll have no trouble seeing it on a sunny day. It also uses 2160Hz PWM dimming, which is meant to be easier on your eyes if you're sensitive to screen flicker. We'll need to see it in person to judge the colors, but on paper, there's not much to complain about here.

Performance & Software Experience

This phone is built to be fast. The sources don't name the exact chip, but as a 2026 flagship, it's a safe bet it'll have the newest Snapdragon or Dimensity processor inside. You'll get plenty of RAM and fast storage too. The fact it scored so high on DxOMark's camera tests, which need a lot of processing power, suggests it's no slouch. But we don't have real-world benchmarks yet. We can't say how it stacks up against something like the Honor Magic 8 Pro in games or if it gets hot during long sessions. It'll run Xiaomi's HyperOS software. Full reviews will need to show us how well that software works, especially with the fancy camera hardware.

Camera Performance

This is the whole point of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. Its camera isn't just good, it's officially one of the best you can get. DxOMark gave it a score of 166 points, putting it in 6th place worldwide. That's ahead of the Honor Magic 8 Pro, which is no small feat.

The hardware setup is seriously ambitious. There's a triple-camera array on the back. The main event is a huge 1.0"-type 50MP main sensor, which should grab tons of light and detail. The ultrawide is another 50MP shooter. But the real star is the telephoto camera. It's a 200MP periscope lens with a focal range of 75-100mm. The big deal here is the 3.2-4.3x continuous optical zoom. That means you can zoom smoothly within that range without losing quality, which is a real advantage over phones with fixed zoom lenses. The "zoom ring" on the Leica Edition gives you direct, tactile control over it, just like a real camera lens.

For video, it's just as capable. It can shoot 8K at 30fps, high-frame-rate 4K, and pro features like gyro-EIS and Dolby Vision HDR 10-bit recording. This makes it a legit tool for mobile videographers. The sources don't have details on low-light shots or portrait mode, but with these specs and that DxOMark ranking, it's clear this camera system is a major reason to look at this phone.

Battery Life & Charging

Here's a problem, the information we have doesn't tell us anything about the battery. We don't know its size, how fast it charges, or how long it lasts in a day. That's a pretty big gap. A phone with a screen this bright, a processor this powerful, and cameras this complex needs a big battery to keep up. Can it handle a full day of heavy use, including lots of photos and videos? How quickly can you top it up? These are crucial questions that we just can't answer yet. If you're thinking about buying this phone, you'll want to find those answers from full reviews first.

Value & Competition

Figuring out if the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is a good deal is tough without a price tag. But we know where it stands, it's aiming for the top shelf of camera-focused flagships. Its main rivals, based on the DxOMark list and chatter, are the Honor Magic 8 Pro (which it beat) and the Vivo X200 Ultra, which is currently sitting in 2nd place globally. People are also talking about the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Vivo X300 Pro. So what makes the 17 Ultra special? It's that continuous optical zoom telephoto and the physical zoom ring on the Leica model. If you're really into photography and love having flexible zoom without losing quality, this phone is very appealing. But if you only care about the highest ranking number, the Vivo X200 Ultra is still ahead. And if you care about more than just the camera, you'll need to wait for reviews to see how the software, battery, and design all come together.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra Ratings Breakdown

Since we don't have full review scores yet, here's a summary based on the specs and the DxOMark result:

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the Xiaomi 17 Ultra camera compare to the Honor Magic 8 Pro?

DxOMark gave the Xiaomi 17 Ultra 166 points, putting it ahead of the Honor Magic 8 Pro in the global smartphone camera rankings. So, on paper at least, it's got a more capable camera system.

What is the difference between the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and the Leica Edition?

The main difference is the Leica Edition comes with a physical mechanical zoom ring for controlling the camera's optical zoom. The standard model doesn't have this ring.

Should you choose the Xiaomi 17 Ultra or the Vivo X200 Ultra for the best camera?

Right now, DxOMark ranks the Vivo X200 Ultra 2nd in the world, while the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is 6th. Your choice might come down to specific features you want, like Xiaomi's continuous zoom, versus the overall ranking and what else each phone offers.

Final Verdict

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra makes a strong first impression as a phone built for photo and video buffs. That DxOMark ranking proves its camera is world-class, and hardware like the continuous zoom is a genuine innovation. But let's be clear, we're working with specs and one benchmark score here. We still don't know about battery life, how it performs day-to-day, how good the software is, or, maybe most importantly, how much it costs. If the camera is your absolute top priority and that zoom ring sounds cool, then the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, especially the Leica Edition, should be on your shortlist. For everyone else, it's a waiting game. You'll need to see full reviews to know if the rest of the phone is good enough to match what will surely be a very high price.

Sources

• gizmochina.com
• chinaplanets.com
• tiktok.com
• facebook.com
• gsmarena.com