*Image credit — Ice Universe
The Xiaomi 17 series is official, and all of the models are packing some pretty epic hardware. No, seriously, these are some of the nicest phones that Xiaomi has ever released, and almost every early reviewer seems to think so too.
And yet, for the first time in my life, I find myself not wanting to get a Xiaomi phone. Unlike so many others, I’ve never written off the company’s phones as cheap hardware that I wouldn’t spend money on. I have always respected Xiaomi and the devices it has made. Until now.
And this is because of just how blatantly Xiaomi has plagiarized from Apple this year. It’s just a bit too much, you know?
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max? Really?
For starters, Xiaomi completely abandoned its previous naming convention, and just straight up copied Apple. The new phones consist of the following models:
- Xiaomi 17
- Xiaomi 17 Pro
- Xiaomi 17 Pro Max
Sound a bit familiar? You’d hardly be alone. In fact, I’m almost surprised that there isn’t a Xiaomi 17 Air here too. But the company went so, so much further.The Xiaomi 17 Pro and the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max took the redesigned rear camera module from the iPhone 17 Pro, in an attempt to look just like Apple’s newest flagships. Furthermore, Xiaomi’s HyperOS 3 — which is coming to supported phones soon — looks extremely similar to iOS 26 and Apple’s Liquid Glass redesign. Clearly, the company is working on implementing the iOS 26 look systemwide.Xiaomi is also introducing “HyperIsland” which, you guessed it, is just Apple’s Dynamic Island. So the company’s new operating system for its phones, that look like the iPhone 17 Pro, also resembles the OS that runs on Apple’s phones.
This is all just too much for me, personally. Xiaomi has always made excellent phones, and these new ones aren’t any exceptions. The camera experience is top-notch, these are the first phones to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and they all pack massive batteries.
But if I wanted an iPhone 17 Pro, I’d get an iPhone 17 Pro, Xiaomi!
Is there genuine innovation here?
From what I can tell after seeing the superb hardware packed into these phones, Xiaomi did all of this as a massive marketing stunt. This has got people talking about the company’s newest phones, not to mention that internet searches will also bring up the Xiaomi 17 alongside the iPhone 17 series. Behind the blatantly stolen hardware and software designs, there is some actual innovation here as well.
For example, the first thing that immediately jumps to mind is, of course, the second screen. The rear camera module isn’t a massive island just for fun: the second screen does a lot of really cool things.
Xiaomi has genuinely put a lot of effort into making the rear display feel like less of a gimmick, and more like an actual tool. There is a ton of customization to be found here, and the display also makes using the phones’ excellent cameras a lot better.
Then, of course, there is all of the other hardware. Sure, the HyperIsland and the Liquid Glass look is a knock-off, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 isn’t. Nor is the 7,500 mAh battery inside the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, which charges at 100W and remains lightweight because of using silicon.
So, yes, Xiaomi’s innovative spirit is still alive. It’s just hidden behind layers and layers of stolen designs that may or may not be a marketing stunt. Whether the second display sticks around, or the Liquid Glass look in general, remains to be seen.
For me, however, this is all just a bit too much. Whenever I’m in the market for a new phone next, I probably won’t be considering the Xiaomi 17 series, whenever it launches outside of China. Simply because I just don’t like my phone to look like it’s tried too hard to copy a more popular competitor.
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