Xiaomi 17: The Ultimate Combination of Size and Performance

Best Prices Today: Xiaomi 17

Although the base Xiaomi 17 may present itself as the most predictable and modest entry in the company’s latest flagship smartphone line, it’s still built to be among the most competitive around.

Almost five months on from the series’ debut in the company’s homeland of China, Xiaomi held its annual global launch event in Barcelona as part of MWC 2026 in order to bring the Xiaomi 17 series to international audiences.

While the intriguing Xiaomi 17 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max – with their ‘Dynamic Back Displays’ – sadly didn’t make the jump to international audiences, the base Xiaomi 17 – which arrives alongside the company’s latest uber-flagship, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra – still packs plenty of punch.

When word of Asus’ withdrawal from the mobile market dropped back in January, it was a blow, not just because competition is good in the mobile industry and one less player takes pressure off rivals to innovate, but because Asus was known for creating great, powerful compact smartphones; a rarity today.

That’s why the arrival of the base Xiaomi 17 feels all the more important; it’s a small flagship that looks like it can deliver, and that’s a hard needle to thread. So difficult, in fact, that barely any phone makers outside of Apple, Google and Samsung attempt it.

So, does the Xiaomi 17 live up to its potential as a compact flagship? Or does this combination of small size and big feature set miss the mark?

Design & Build

• Black, Ice Blue, Alpine Pink & Venture Green colourways
• IP68-certified + Xiaomi Guardian Structure & Xiaomi Shield Glass 3.0
• 191g, 8.09mm thick, 1.18mm uniform bezels

To look at, the Xiaomi 17 is elegant, but unexciting. Similar to the Xiaomi 15, which came before it (no, there was no Xiaomi 16 series of phones)

With no rear display to worry about, Xiaomi has fallen back on its current go-to design layout, which, aside from four elements within the camera bump as opposed to three, looks a lot like an iPhone 15 Pro or 16 Pro. That doesn’t stop it from being a wonderfully elegant and well-made device, though.

Despite an on-trend flat-backed and flat-sided form, Xiaomi says it’s paid particular attention to hand feel this generation. While the brand’s marketing team throws around terms like “Golden Arc-derived corners” and a “super-elliptical design for a smoother, more refined feel,” all I can tell you is that this phone is nice to handle.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

Yes, its inherent compact dimensions are a delight in the hand or in your pocket, compared to the swathes of 6.7-inch+ phones that dominate the market, but genuinely, no edge is too sharp and the corners are pleasant against your palm. Its small size and weight (191 grams) also mean it’s easy enough to manipulate in one hand, without much fear of dropping it. It’s also the thinnest compact Xiaomi flagship since the Xiaomi 13.

I mention dropping, because that smooth anodised frame and subtly diffuse matte back glass, while great at repelling fingerprints, don’t offer heaps of grip, which is something to be aware of. Unlike previous entries, which include a functional but somewhat unattractive dark grey flexible TPU case, the 17 comes with a transparent hard shell case instead.

It’s thinner and likely won’t spread impact force as effectively as the softer TPU material, but still works for repelling scrapes, includes free-moving transparent button pieces, so you’re not robbed of the phone’s inherent tactile ‘click’ and still lets you enjoy your chosen colourway.

While the global version of the Xiaomi 17 arrives in four main finishes, just like the Chinese model did, last September, there’s no white option internationally, instead replaced by an elegant Venture Green, which adds cohesion with the new Starlit Green finish of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. You also have the option of black (pictured), which does have some dimension and tonality to it, along with a pastel-like Ice Blue and Alpine Pink.

Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be an outlandish Liquid Silver option this year, as we saw with the 15.

Part of what gives the 17 such an elegant appearance is its razor-thin bezels. We first got a look at the LIPO process the company uses to achieve such a thin border on the likes of last year’s Xiaomi 15T Pro. Here, however, it’s been pushed even further, giving the Xiaomi 17 some of the thinnest borders I’ve seen on a smartphone, at just 1.18mm all the way around. It unquestionably ups the premium feel of the phone, and despite its inherently small display, helps make the viewing experience more immersive in your hand.

As for durability, the 17 takes on the same ‘Xiaomi Guardian Structure’ as its predecessor, which includes a 6M42 aluminium alloy frame around the sides, and Xiaomi Shield Glass 3.0 on the front (which the company claims is 20x more drop resistant compared to conventional toughened smartphone glass). In my time with the 17, the frame, glass camera deco and display all remained blemish-free, with even the pre-fitted plastic screen protector proving more resilient than expected.

The 17 also features IP68-certified protection against dust and water ingress, which, while appreciated, is essentially the bare minimum for a high-end Android flagship these days. Rivals like the Oppo Find X9 Pro, OnePlus 15 and Honor Magic 8 Pro include additional IP69 (and even IP69K) protection, so while I have no qualms with the level of resilience on offer from the Xiaomi 17, there’s a clear path for improvement with future generations.

Screen & Speakers

• 6.3-inch 1.5K 120Hz LTPO AMOLED display
• Peak 3,500-nit brightness output
• Dolby Atmos stereo speakers

Just because the Xiaomi 17 sports the smallest display in the lineup, it doesn’t mean Xiaomi has treated it with any less respect. It’s, in fact, one of the sharpest, brightest panels in its class.

At 6.3-inches with a 19.6:9 aspect ratio, it’s fractionally shorter and smaller than the last two generations of compact Xiaomi flagship. Twin this pint-sized panel with an impressively dense 2656 x 1220 resolution, and you get a pixel density of 464ppi, beating out the likes of the new Samsung Galaxy S26 (411ppi) and the iPhone 17 Pro (460ppi), for raw sharpness.

Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd

The use of LTPO tech grants it a truly dynamic refresh rate between 1- and 120Hz, which is great for delivering smooth visuals whilst also balancing power efficiency. The M10 panel used also includes a new SuperRED luminous material – a feature I first encountered on the Poco F8 Pro‘s screen – which reportedly increases luminance efficiency by 11.4%, which leads to the panel’s 23% reduction in overall power consumption, compared to previous displays used in the series.

If you like watching HDR content on the go, the new increased peak 3500-nit brightness output, as well as the display’s compatibility with HDR