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The Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Pro are the company’s latest flagships, straight from the company’s home region of China – but what’s the difference between the two?
While some differences, like the addition of a two-inch rear display on the Pro model, are obvious, other key differences are much more subtle – and in some cases, it’s the regular Xiaomi 17 that takes the win – on paper, anyway.
With a global announcement still unconfirmed, here’s how the Xiaomi 17 stacks up to the Xiaomi 17 Pro on paper.
If you’re curious, we’ve also compared the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro Max, along with a comparison of the Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, to help you get a better understanding of the range on the whole.
Pricing and availability
Both the Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Pro were announced at an event in Xiaomi’s home region of China on 25 September 2025 – a whole month earlier than last year’s October launch of the Xiaomi 15 range.
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The phones are available to buy in China now, starting at CNY 4500 and CNY 5,000 respectively, but a wider release is yet to be confirmed.
That’s nothing new for Xiaomi though; the company often releases smartphone hardware in China first before a wider release later on. Going by last year’s global Xiaomi 15 reveal, the new range could well make its debut at MWC 2026, due to kick off on 2 March 2026.
The Xiaomi 17 Pro has a rear screen
One of the biggest key differences between the Xiaomi 17 and its Pro sibling is found on the rear. While the back of the Xiaomi 17 looks pretty normal, featuring a camera bump in the top-left, a bit of Xiaomi branding and not much more, the rear of the Xiaomi 17 Pro has a secret weapon: a secondary screen.
The 2.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen extends across the top of the rear of the phone, and essentially doubles up not only as a viewfinder for rear camera selfies, but it can display notifications, calls and the like. And, when connected to a new game controller case specifically designed for the 17 Pro and Pro Max, it’ll even double up as a retro game display.
It’s certainly a niche feature – most of us tend to leave our phones screen-up to avoid scratching the screen, after all – but it does make the Pro model unique, not only compared to the regular Xiaomi 17 but the wider smartphone market.
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The Xiaomi 17 Pro has a better zoom lens
You might assume that, being the ‘Pro’ model, the Xiaomi 17 Pro has vastly superior cameras when compared to the regular Xiaomi 17 – but that’s actually not the case.
Regardless of the model you go for, you’ll be getting the same 50MP primary camera – complete with an identical 1/1.31-inch sensor, f/1.7 aperture and OIS, also capable of up to 8K@30fps or 4K@120fps video capture, complete with Dolby Vision HDR and LOG support.
That’s backed up by an identical high-res 50MP ultrawide lens – though neither sports truly high-end ultrawide features like OIS or autofocus support.
Instead, where the two differ is in the zoom department. The Xiaomi 17 sports a 50MP 2.6x telephoto lens, while the Pro model offers a boosted 50MP 5x periscope lens, with the latter’s more advanced tech also allowing for higher levels of zoom.
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The Xiaomi 17 has a bigger battery
In a rather surprising turn of events, it’s not the Xiaomi 17 Pro with the bigger battery – that’d go to the regular model.
It’s a doozy of a cell too, with the Xiaomi 17 sporting a massive 7000mAh silicon carbon battery compared to the Pro model’s 6300mAh alternative, coming in at just 500mAh less than the top-end Xiaomi 17 Pro Max – though you can’t exactly describe any of these batteries as ‘small’ compared to much of the 5000mAh competition.
Both come with the same 100W wired and 50W wireless fast charging support, suggesting the Pro might go from 0-100% a little faster with its smaller capacity – though you’ll need a HyperCharge-branded charger to hit those maximum speeds.
The Xiaomi 17 Pro has ultra-wideband support
The Xiaomi 17 Pro stands out with its ultra-wideband support, the same technology that Apple uses in its iPhones and accessories like AirTags and HomePod mini to enable the ultra-precise local tracking functionality.
Of course, it won’t play well with Apple’s branded accessories, but there’s a wealth of Xiaomi alternatives that’ll be compatible with the tech. However, much of this, sadly, isn’t widely available outside of the company’s home region of China, so it shouldn’t play a massive part in your decision-making process overall.
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The two are near-identical in most other regards
In most regards, however, the two flagships are identical.
The Xiaomi 17 Pro is ever so slightly thinner and lighter, but there’s literally 0.1mm and 1g in it, so it shouldn’t be perceptible in any shape or form.
Aside from that, both sport the same combination of glass and aluminium with IP68 dust and water resistance, a high-end 6.3-inch 120Hz LTPO-enabled AMOLED screen, and even the same connectivity with support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
You might assume that the Pro model would have the upper hand in the performance department, but that’s not the case either; both offer the brand new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with either 12- or 16GB of RAM, depending on the storage option you go for.
And, of course, both come with Xiaomi’s new HyperOS 3 based on Android 16 out of the box.
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Early thoughts
Unlike some manufacturers that offer massive upgrades on their Pro-branded models, the Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Pro are remarkably similar in key areas like display technology, performance and, for the most part, camera hardware.
Instead, it comes down to smaller elements like the addition of the 2-inch rear screen, a higher-end periscope zoom lens and support for ultra-wideband that make the Pro model stand out. It’s not even a complete win for the Pro model, as the regular model offers a much larger battery.
That said, we’ll reserve our final thoughts for once we’ve spent some time with Xiaomi’s new flagships – likely in early 2026 – to see how the two really compare in real-world use.
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English (US) ·