Mid-range phone with a Leica camera outshines significantly more expensive phones

When Xiaomi releases a new flagship smartphone, competitors like Apple and Samsung take a very close look: Especially when it comes to the camera, the Chinese manufacturer—thanks in part to its partnership with the legendary camera maker Leica—is a sure bet and always good for a surprise.

Although the Xiaomi 17 Max is technically only available in China, thanks to importers like TradingShenzhen, it’s relatively easy to get your hands on one. The price is a real steal: the 6.9-inch phone costs around US$ 770.

High pixel count for the main sensor

The main camera has a resolution of 200 megapixels, and there’s also a wide-angle camera and a telephoto lens, each with 50 megapixels. The camera takes good photos with high levels of detail. It can certainly hold its own against other top-tier phones, but it doesn’t set any new standards either.

Videos can be recorded at up to 120 fps, even in 4K resolution. In 8K, however, only a maximum of 30 fps is available. We were impressed with the quality in our video test; exposure is adjusted quickly and almost imperceptibly, and the phone maintains focus well.

The software offers some interesting options for video recording: For example, you can record videos in Dolby Vision or display a pre-written text—much like a teleprompter—so you can read it directly from the screen.

Telephoto camera for close-ups

The focal length of the telephoto lens is set to provide a 3x optical zoom compared to the main camera; everything in between is calculated by the system using data from both cameras, and above 3x zoom the AI helps make the digital crop look reasonably good.

In our zoom test, you can see that even the 30x magnification is still quite usable, although the AI’s intervention is already noticeable. Anything beyond that is still OK as a substitute for binoculars, but hardly usable for actual photography.

Selfie camera with good results

The front camera takes good photos even in somewhat dimmer light and is definitely suitable for nice selfies.

Overall, the Xiaomi 17 Max’s camera system performs well. You can find the full review and additional test photos in our detailed review.