Xiaomi 17 vs 17 Ultra Review: 3 Reasons to Buy the Regular

Xiaomi has severely stepped up its flagship smartphone recreation, and the Xiaomi 17 lineup proves it. In the event you examine these telephones with virtually the rest available on the market proper now, it’s genuinely laborious to seek out a lot to complain about.

I’ve been utilizing the recently-launched Xiaomi 17 for some time now, and it’s impressed me greater than I anticipated. Alex Walker-Todd did our full evaluation, however the time I’ve spent with it exhibits simply how far forward of the competitors it’s – and that features its costlier sibling, the Xiaomi 17 Extremely.

Over the previous few weeks, I’ve been evaluating the Xiaomi 17 and the Xiaomi 17 Extremely to see which one makes extra sense for most individuals. The result’s a little bit stunning – the Xiaomi 17 truly comes out forward. It delivers virtually the whole lot you’d need from a flagship, whereas saving you some huge cash: it begins at £899 versus £1,299 for the Xiaomi 17 Extremely. 

On prime of that, it’s compact, and genuinely compact flagship telephones are more and more uncommon. The Xiaomi 17 includes a 6.3-inch show, a measurement that’s turning into much less frequent as most fashionable flagships push towards 6.8 and even 6.9-inch shows. It’s not tiny, just like the iPhone mini or smaller telephones from a decade in the past, but it surely nonetheless feels comfortably compact and simple to make use of one-handed.

So does the Xiaomi 17 truly strike the appropriate stability in comparison with the Xiaomi 17 Extremely, or are you higher off spending extra on the larger flagship? Let’s break it down.

1. You get the identical efficiency

One of many key causes to decide on the Xiaomi 17 over the Xiaomi 17 Extremely is efficiency. Each telephones run on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, Qualcomm’s newest flagship chip constructed on a 3 nm manufacturing course of. For the reason that chipset is an identical, there’s no noticeable distinction in real-world efficiency, solely in worth.

I examined each telephones with demanding cellular video games to see if there was any hole. I spent a great period of time enjoying Genshin Affect on each the Xiaomi 17 and the Xiaomi 17 Extremely, and neither telephone confirmed any lag, stutter, or efficiency drops. Gameplay felt clean and constant on each gadgets. I additionally examined Name of Responsibility Cellular, and as soon as once more, the expertise was an identical.

Each telephones use the identical reminiscence and storage applied sciences as effectively. You get LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage on each fashions, so app loading instances, multitasking, and file transfers are equally quick.

The primary distinction comes all the way down to configuration choices. The Xiaomi 17 is out there with 12GB RAM and both 256GB or 512GB of storage, whereas the Xiaomi 17 Extremely goes as much as 16GB RAM and 1TB storage.

In the event you particularly need the very best RAM and storage mixture, the Extremely is smart. For most individuals, although, the Xiaomi 17 delivers the identical efficiency expertise.

2. The shape issue is healthier

I’ll admit that I’m biased towards smaller telephones. For the longest time, my major machine was the smaller Samsung Galaxy S23, and I additionally spent a good period of time utilizing the Galaxy S21 FE. Telephones with shows round 6.2- or 6.3-inches are likely to really feel excellent to me.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

The Xiaomi 17 matches proper into that class with its 6.3-inch show. Regardless of the compact physique, it nonetheless delivers a flagship show expertise.

You get an OLED panel protected by Xiaomi Protect Glass, which is Xiaomi’s different to Gorilla Glass. I’ve been utilizing the telephone for a few month with no case or display protector to check sturdiness and, up to now, I haven’t observed any scratches.

The show helps a 120Hz LTPO refresh fee that may dynamically scale between 1Hz and 120Hz, relying on what you’re doing. You’ll discover this whereas gaming, scrolling by way of social media apps, or navigating menus.

Peak brightness reaches 3500 nits, which is greater than sufficient for out of doors visibility in shiny daylight. Different show options embody HDR10+, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, and DC dimming. 

Due to the dimensions and stability of the Xiaomi 17, I can comfortably use the telephone with one hand – scrolling, typing messages, taking pictures and recording movies simply.

With bigger telephones, that’s not often potential. The Xiaomi 17 Extremely feels top-heavy due to the large digicam island on the again. Whenever you attempt to use it with one hand, even flattening the notification shade can really feel awkward. You usually need to shift the telephone in your hand and stretch your thumb to succeed in the highest of the show.

Chris Martin / Foundry

One other challenge I observed is the grip. On Xiaomi 17, the digicam module sits within the upper-left nook, which leaves loads of area to your fingers on the again. On the Xiaomi 17 Extremely, the digicam island is large and positioned nearer to the centre, so your index finger usually finally ends up resting awkwardly someplace in the midst of the telephone.

3. The battery and charging are higher

You may assume the costlier Xiaomi 17 Extremely would supply higher battery life and quicker charging, however that’s not truly the case.

The Xiaomi 17 Extremely packs a 6000mAh battery, which is spectacular. Nonetheless, the Xiaomi 17 manages to incorporate a barely bigger 6330mAh battery, regardless of its smaller physique.

Charging speeds additionally favour the Xiaomi 17. The telephone helps 100W wired charging and 50W wi-fi charging, whereas the Xiaomi 17 Extremely helps 90W wired charging and solely 15W wi-fi charging.

Throughout my testing, the Xiaomi 17 achieved greater than 35 hours in a looping video playback take a look at. In common day by day use, the telephone constantly lasted by way of a full day, which included Wi-Fi shopping, video streaming, utilizing a number of apps, recording movies, and even an hour or two of gaming.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Charging efficiency is equally spectacular. In my testing, the Xiaomi 17 crossed the 50 % mark in about 22 minutes, which implies a brief charging session can simply get you thru the remainder of the day.

The Xiaomi 17 Extremely takes nearer to half-hour to succeed in round 60 %. Whereas that’s quick, it isn’t fairly as fast because the Xiaomi 17. The Extremely’s bigger show additionally consumes extra energy, which impacts battery life.

Xiaomi 17 is good for most individuals

Until you desire a telephone that may rival a DSLR, you’re higher off with the Xiaomi 17. It’s compact, packs a implausible show, and delivers glorious efficiency. You’re not sacrificing a lot on the digicam facet both.

The telephone comes with a good triple-camera system with a 50+50+50Mp setup, which is greater than succesful in most situations.

And one of many three causes isn’t even that it’s so much cheaper!