After months of anticipation, today, Xiaomi has officially announced that its next-generation Xiaomi 17 Series will be released this month in China. Xiaomi is taking an aggressive stance in its rivalry with Apple by jumping directly from the Xiaomi 15 series to the Xiaomi 17 series. The Chinese tech giant confirmed that the new flagship series will have three phones this month, including the Xiaomi 17, Xiaomi 17 Pro, and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max.
According to the company’s President, Lu Weibing, the renaming decision was intentional, designed to align with Apple’s freshly launched iPhone 17 Series and to signal a “generational leap” in performance. “The Xiaomi 17 series represents a generational leap in product capability,” Lu said on social media, adding that the lineup was “ready for head-to-head competition” with Apple’s latest devices.
This marks only the second time Xiaomi has skipped a number in its naming convention. In 2018, the company jumped from the Mi 6 to the Mi 8 to celebrate its eighth anniversary.
For years, Xiaomi built its reputation on delivering feature-packed smartphones at affordable prices. But in recent years, the brand has shifted toward the premium segment, an arena largely dominated by Apple and Huawei in China. Lu Weibing touted the Xiaomi 17 as “the most powerful standard flagship device ever” while promising no increase in the price point. He has also confirmed that the Xiaomi 17 Series will be the first smartphones in the world to be powered by the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max Leak Hints at Dual Display
In the afternoon, a supposed leak of the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max surfaced after Xiaomi’s official Weibo account briefly changed its profile picture to what appeared to be the phone’s design. However, the image was quickly removed.
The device features a dual-display setup, with a large secondary screen built into the large rear camera module. This cover display could show time, notifications, or serve as a viewfinder – reminiscent of the Mi 11 Ultra, but on a much larger scale.
The leaked image also highlighted a triple-camera system with Leica branding, including a periscope telephoto lens, an ultra-wide sensor, and an LED flash.
Overall, Xiaomi has said that they are very confident in the new 17 Series. Lu described the series as offering “the most significant upgrade” in Xiaomi’s numbered lineup, designed to introduce something new to the market, which is currently flooded with boring phones.
