As a hobbyist photographer, 2025’s hugely impressive Xiaomi 15 Ultra finally converted me. I’d long had Xiaomi in my peripheral vision but so often been put off by its China-oriented software touches and excessive bloat. While the handset offered impressive hardware across the board, it was the camera package’s impressive results that really sold me on the phone. It claimed my prize for the best premium camera phone so comprehensively that I was seriously contemplating dropping my Fuji mirrorless for it.
So, of course, I was very excited to have its successor, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, come across my desk. Its claim to photography fame is a new variable focal length, variable aperture Leica Summilux lens, which sounds like something you’d expect on a fully fledged mirrorless lens. Of course, the phone is backed by other mobile technical marvels, including the fastest processor Qualcomm has to offer and cutting-edge battery technology, too.