Midrange, telephoto, and Leica. These are three things you don’t usually see together in one smartphone, and yet Xiaomi has somehow managed to combine them all.
This is the Xiaomi 17T, and it feels like everything we liked about the Xiaomi 17 series, just made more affordable. But is it actually good, or is Xiaomi just trying to sell us a phone with buzzwords?
Let me tell you early on, they weren’t.
Xiaomi 17T Black
Camera: Telephoto, Leica Tuned
Most midrange phones in 2026 rely on a high resolution main camera, often around 200MP, and then just crop in digitally to simulate zoom. While this works to some extent, it still doesn’t compare to having a real telephoto lens.
The Xiaomi 17T changes that by including a periscope telephoto camera. This isn’t just your usual 2x or cropped zoom setup, you actually get 5x optical zoom.
And if that’s not impressive enough, it’s also Leica tuned.
Xiaomi 17T Leica Camera
The difference between cropping and true optical zoom is huge. With a real telephoto lens, you get actual depth. Real foreground and background separation that simply isn’t possible with digital cropping. That’s just how optics work.
And the results speak for themselves.
Xiaomi 17T Telephoto Depth Sample Xiaomi 17T Telephoto Depth Sample Xiaomi 17T Depth of field
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| Xiaomi 17T Depth of field |
In good lighting, the Xiaomi 17T performs really well. 5x zoom is the sweet spot optically, but I wasn’t afraid to push it further up to around 10x thanks to Xiaomi’s processing.
And surprisingly, a lot of the shots still turned out very usable.
Xiaomi 17T Periscope Telephoto (48x Zoom 705mm equivalent) Xiaomi 17T Telephoto Sample
Between 1x and 5x, the phone still does some cropping before switching fully to the telephoto sensor. The results are still good, but I personally prefer staying closer to 1x to 3x, then jumping straight to 5x to fully use the optical lens.
Leica Colors and Camera Features
The Leica tuning also makes a big difference.
Xiaomi 17T Leica Colors
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| Xiaomi 17T Leica Filters |
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| Xiaomi 17T Leica BW |
You can choose Leica color profiles before or after taking a shot, and everything can be adjusted depending on your preference. It doesn’t feel overly locked down, which I really like.
There are also small but useful camera features like the ability to preserve your camera settings so you don’t have to set everything again every time.
For street photography, you can also set the volume button to double tap to instantly launch the camera or take a snapshot. It makes shooting much faster and more convenient.
Portraits
Portraits are also very good on the Xiaomi 17T.
Xiaomi 17T Leica Portrait Xiaomi 17T Leica Portrait
One thing I recommend is lowering the beautify filter a bit because it can be a bit too strong by default. Also, try using the 5x lens for portraits since the compression and separation look really good.
I also noticed that the phone tends to brighten portrait shots a bit, so lowering exposure slightly before taking the shot helps get better results.
Overall though, the camera system is just really enjoyable to use.
Compared to some flagship phones, the Xiaomi 17T goes for a more “authentic” camera look. Not the sharpest, not the cleanest, but more natural and closer to how a real camera would render images.
And honestly, I really like that.
It makes photography feel fun again. Everything you shoot just ends up looking good, whether you’re experienced or just casually taking photos for social media.
Xiaomi 17T Selfie Camera
The only weak point is the selfie camera. It’s not terrible, but compared to the rear cameras, it feels a bit flat and just okay.
Design
The Xiaomi 17T is a relatively compact phone, and that actually makes it really good for street photography since it doesn’t feel tiring to hold.
Xiaomi 17T Design Black Xiaomi 17T Black Xiaomi 17T Thickness
It’s slim, and I also like that the camera bump doesn’t stick out too much. It’s one of the cleaner designs I’ve seen in a while.
Xiaomi 17T Camera close up
Build quality is solid, especially on this black variant which looks very sleek and premium.
Battery
What’s surprising is that despite the compact size, Xiaomi managed to fit a 6500mAh battery inside.
In my testing, it lasted more than 16 hours in the PCMark battery test. It also supports 65W fast charging, going from around 3% to 100% in just about an hour.
One thing I did notice is that the phone can get warm during long photography sessions outdoors. Nothing alarming, but it’s noticeable, likely due to the slim metal build.
Xiaomi 17T PCMark Battery Test 100% - 20%
Performance
The Xiaomi 17T is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8500-Ultra. It’s an upper midrange chip, and performance is fast and smooth for everyday use. Apps open quickly, multitasking feels snappy, and overall it handles daily tasks without issues.
What stood out more to me though is the software experience.
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| Xiaomi 17T Front |
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| Xiaomi 17T Display Close up |
Some of my previous complaints with older Xiaomi devices, like missing double tap to wake and sleep, are now finally addressed in HyperOS.
There are also camera-focused shortcuts, like assigning the volume button for quick capture or instant camera launch, which makes shooting much more convenient.
Final Thoughts
So is the Xiaomi 17T for you? It depends.
If you want pure gaming performance or a flagship killer, then this might not be the one. POCO devices might suit you better.
Xiaomi 17T Display
But if you care about photography, portraits, street photography, or just taking really nice looking photos for social media, then the Xiaomi 17T is genuinely one of the most enjoyable phones in this category.
At around the 30k range, this is probably the cheapest way to get a Leica tuned phone with a proper periscope telephoto lens.
And honestly, this is one of those Xiaomi phones that makes you think twice about going for the more expensive flagship.
Because for what it’s trying to do, it already does it really well. Highly recommended.