Xiaomi’s T-series follows the flagship line in skipping over the number 16. The two new models announced today – 17T and 17T Pro – bring the expected upgrades over last year’s 15T and 15T Pro, but some improvements are better than expected.
Xiaomi 17T and 17T Pro
For starters, the Xiaomi 17T now features a 50MP 5x/115mm periscope as its telephoto lens. This is a huge upgrade over the 50MP 2x/46mm module of its predecessor. The new camera is capable of not only 10x “optical-grade” zoom (by leveraging the in-sensor zoom), but it can also produce tele-macro shots at just 30cm. This camera is paired with a 12MP ultra-wide (120°, 15mm) and a 32MP selfie camera (90°, 21mm).
The Xiaomi 17T now features a 50MP 5x/115mm periscope
The base 17T is now a bit smaller with a 6.59” display, a 120Hz OLED with 1268p+ resolution. This is compared to 6.83” on the old 15T and the new 17T Pro. Anyway, the new display can reach 3,500 nits peak brightness, which is controlled via 3,840Hz PWM and DC dimming. As usual, the T-series brings high-quality 12-bit displays (68 billion colors). Here it is in action over at our TikTok.
The new T-phone isn’t as thin as its predecessor (8.2mm vs. 7.5mm), but there is a very good reason for that – it houses a 6,500mAh battery, which is 1,000mAh more than the 15T (an increase of 18%). It supports 67W HyperCharge and 50W USB PPS (wired only). You can share the large battery with others via 22.5W reverse charging.
The Xiaomi 17T has a smaller 6.59” screen • Its 6,500mAh battery supports 67W fast charging
The Xiaomi 17T is powered by the Dimensity 8500 chipset with all-big CPU core design (eight Cortex-A725) and a Mali-G720 MC8. The 4nm chip is paired with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM (9,600Mbps) and 256GB/512GB of UFS 4.1 storage. It is kept cool by the Xiaomi 3D IceLoop System, which features a very effective vapor chamber.
The Xiaomi 17T is powered by the Dimensity 8500 with 3D IceLoop cooling
In our testing, the 15T – which uses the older Dimensity 8400 – showed impressive sustained performance. Xiaomi says that the 8500 brings a 25% boost in peak GPU performance. For a preview of the Dimensity 8400 to 8500 upgrade, check out the Poco X8 Pro review.
The Xiaomi 17T Pro sticks with the larger 6.83” display size – it’s another 12-bit OLED panel with 1280p+ resolution and 3,500 nits peak brightness. It has two upgrades over the 17T panel. First, it runs at 144Hz (up from 120Hz). Second, it can go down to 1 nit in ultra-dim mode. Both displays are protected by Gorilla Glass 7i.
The Xiaomi 17T Pro has a 6.83” display and a 7,000mAh battery with 100W wired, 50W wireless charging
The Pro model is also a bit thicker than its predecessor at 8.3mm (up from 8.0mm) and it is 9g heavier too. You must have guessed the reason – Xiaomi used a Si/C battery with 16% silicon content and a capacity of 7,000mAh. This is 27% more (1,500mAh) than the 15T Pro battery. Charging support includes both 100W HyperCharge and 100W USB PPS, as well as 50W wireless charging.
While the 17T and 17T Pro have the same telephoto, ultra-wide and selfie cameras, the main camera on the Pro features a larger sensor – the 1/1.31” OmniVision Light Fusion 950 (a newer version of the 15T Pro sensor) has 1.2µm pixels compared to the 1.0µm pixels of the 1/1.55” Light Fusion 800 inside the vanilla 17T.
The Xiaomi 17T Pro has a larger 1/1.31” Light Fusion 950 sensor
Both cameras have 50MP resolution and both feature Leica Summilux lenses (1G + 6P) with optical image stabilization. Xiaomi has enabled a new 4K 60fps mode with HDR10+ and Log options. There are a number of new modes: Stage mode (for both photos and videos), Leica Live Moment and Leica Live Portrait.
The Xiaomi 17T Pro is powered by the Dimensity 9500 – this is 3nm chip that offers a more significant performance uplift over last year’s 15T Pro. Xiaomi claims a 32% boost in single-core CPU performance and a 33% faster GPU. This is paired with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM (9,600Mbps) and 256GB/512GB/1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. And don’t forget about the 3D IceLoop cooling. By the way, there wasn’t a 16GB variant of the 15T Pro either, so this isn’t a RAMpocalypse thing, it’s just product segmentation from Xiaomi (we can’t have the 17T Pro challenging the 17 Max and 17 Ultra, now can we?).
The Xiaomi 17T Pro is powered by the Dimensity 9500
There are a few other specs and differences worth mentioning. Both phones have stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos plus Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless certifications (no, no 3.5mm jacks here). These are dual-SIM phones and in some regions, they offer eSIM as an option too. Both support Xiaomi Offline Communication.
Xiaomi 17T
However, the Pro model has Wi-Fi 7 support and Bluetooth 6 with Dual-Bluetooth. The regular 17T has Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6.0 without the dual connectivity option. Both have NFC on board.
The 17T is available in Black, Deep Blue and Deep Violet, while its Pro sibling comes in Black, Blue, Violet and Opal White.
Xiaomi 17T and 17T Pro color options
The Xiaomi 17T starts at €750 for the base 12/256GB model, while the Xiaomi 17T Pro starts at €900 for the same 12/256GB configuration. For reference, the 15T and 15T Pro launched at €650 and €800, respectively, so that’s a €100 price hike. To make up for that, Xiaomi is offering a 3-month trial of Google AI Pro (which includes 5TB of cloud storage), 3 months of YouTube Premium (which includes YouTube Music) and a 4-month trial of Spotify Premium.
Xiaomi 17T Pro
By the way, today the company is also launching the Xiaomi Watch S5 46mm, the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro, the Xiaomi Buds 6 and the Xiaomi Sound Play Bluetooth speaker.