What may be the worst smartphone update of 2026 comes from Xiaomi
Xiaomi's Redmi Note series has traditionally offered well-balanced all-rounders with excellent value for money in the smartphone mid-range. With the new Note 17 Pro 5G, at the latest, this “tradition” has come to an end, and Xiaomi is making a clear strategic shift with its 2026 model. In our view, the Redmi Note 17 Pro is positioned more as a rugged outdoor companion than a genuine value-for-money winner.
In our review, Xiaomi's mid-range phone impresses with a very good OLED panel that is significantly brighter than that of a Samsung Galaxy A57. The durable chasing is also a real plus, although the plastic frame and back, along with the high weight, detract somewhat from how it feels in the hand.
Xiaomi smartphone makes significant compromises in key areas compared with the Note 15 Pro
The Note 17 Pro makes significant compromises compared with its predecessor, particularly in the key areas of the Redmi Note 15 Pro (price starts at around $340 at Amazon.com) and camera system. However, these are not the only drawbacks of the 2026 model. Xiaomi's decision to equip its current Pro model with only WiFi 5 and an inferior speaker is highly questionable.
Inside the Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s Gen 4, supported by 6 GB of LPDDR4x RAM in the base model. In our benchmarks this combination delivers only very modest performance. The results measured in our review often falls short of the older Redmi Note 15 Pro's results, so there is no real upgrade.
In a direct comparison with its mid-range competitors, the Xiaomi phone falls even further behind. Xiaomi's own Poco X8 Pro offers up to twice the graphics performance and is also available at a lower market price.
The Redmi Note 17 Pro 5G's primary camera module features a 50-megapixel sensor and optical image stabilization. Despite these solid basic specifications on paper, a closer look at the camera hardware reveals clear signs of cost-cutting. Xiaomi replaces the Note 15 Pro's comparatively large 200-megapixel sensor with an ISOCELL JN (probably JN1) that is almost half the size.
In ideal daylight conditions, the main camera delivers decent results, but as soon as ambient light levels drop, image quality deteriorates sharply. In low-light situations, detail is lost and image noise increases. The camera system shows noticeable weaknesses, particularly when using sensor cropping. Since there is no dedicated telephoto lens, however, the main camera always has to be used for zoom shots.
Source(s)
Redmi Note 17 Pro review
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