New Xiaomi 17 Pro leak points to underwhelming camera specs of compact flagship

The Xiaomi 17 Pro series has just been showcased with an official teaser, and just as the leaks suggested, the company's upcoming upper-end Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 flagship phones will feature a new design. While the company hasn't shared anything on the specs yet, a leak from Digital Chat Station, a credible Weibo leaker, sheds some light on the camera department.

As Digital Chat Station reports, the compact Xiaomi 17 Pro will come with a Leica-enhanced triple camera setup, featuring a 50 MP primary sensor with f/1.67 aperture. It will be paired with a telephoto camera with a 115 mm equivalent focal length, f/3.0 aperture, and 5x zoom.

Regarding the third sensor on the back, Digital Chat Station reports that it will be an ultrawide camera with a 17 mm focal length. While the leaker didn't share the resolution of the two other cameras, these specs hint that the Xiaomi 17 Pro will see somewhat of a downgrade in terms of rear camera setup when compared to its predecessor, the 15 Pro (12/256 GB curr. $706.16 on TradingShenzhen).

To be precise, the Xiaomi 15 Pro features a 50 MP primary sensor with a larger f/1.4 aperture. As for the telephoto, the predecessor also comes with a sensor capable of offering 5x zoom, but it has an f/2.5 aperture and 120 mm equivalent focal length. So, when compared to the leaked specs, the 15 Pro's telephoto is more capable of capturing more light and has a longer focal length.

That means there could be a slight downgrade in terms of low-light captures with the telephoto of the Xiaomi 17 Pro. The comparatively shorter focal length could also lead to a deeper depth of field in telephoto photos, which could result in better captures for landscape photography, but not for portrait or macro photography.

Per the leaked specs, the ultrawide with a 17 mm focal length is also a downgrade, as it would mean that the Xiaomi 15 Pro's ultrawide with a 14 mm focal length will be capable of capturing wider shots.

Of course, all of these are still in the rumor stage, and nothing is set in stone until the company confirms the camera setup of the Xiaomi 17 Pro. Even if this leak turns out to be true, Digital Chat Station has hinted that the 17 Pro Max will feature a different camera setup, which could offer a meaningful upgrade over the Xiaomi 15 Pro.