Top alternative to the Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with a Leica camera and costs significantly less

There’s no question that Xiaomi can build good phones. Unfortunately, not all of the manufacturer’s devices are officially available in Western countries. Take, for example, the new Xiaomi 17 Max, which rounds out the current high-end series. 

It’s a large smartphone with a 6.9-inch screen and barely visible, very narrow bezels. Of course, it’s powered by a lightning-fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5—one of the fastest SoCs currently available. It also features a camera system developed in collaboration with Leica that performed very well in our camera tests.

What can Western buyers expect?

For buyers in the West, the phone is quite easily available as an import—for example, from TradingShenzhen starting at around US$ 770, with fairly low shipping fees and no additional costs. That’s significantly cheaper than its major smartphone competitors, which must be used as comparables to achieve a similar set of features. With those, prices quickly reach around US$ 1,000 and higher.

Problems with importing can arise primarily due to the lack of language support, even though English is available. Additionally, there’s no support for eSIMs or Android Auto. You’ll have to put up with a slightly heavier phone than others, as the Xiaomi 17 Max comes with a high-capacity 8,000 mAh battery.

The phone can get quite hot

More serious, however, are the significant heating of the chassis under load and the heavy throttling of the SoC, meaning full power isn’t always available. 

You’ll also have to put up with PWM flicker on the OLED screen. However, these latter issues are common to almost all high-end phones.

Top-notch build quality on the Xiaomi phone

The Xiaomi 17 Max’s body easily holds its own against other high-end phones: A glass back in chic white, a sporty carbon design, or a playful light blue is complemented by a sturdy aluminum frame, which proved very stable in our test.

Overall, the Xiaomi 17 Max offers a very good package, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Before buying, we recommend reading our in-depth review, which includes plenty of photos and further details.