Xiaomi has revealed the Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max – but what’s the difference between these two next-gen flagships?
While some differences are obvious – like the overall difference in size between the 6.3-inch Pro and the 6.9-inch Pro Max model – there are more subtle differences between the two that could sway your vote one way or the other.
That said, here’s how the Xiaomi 17 Pro stacks up to the larger Xiaomi 17 Pro Max on paper.
Pricing and availability
The Xiaomi 17 Pro and Pro Max were revealed on 25 September 2025 – although they are currently exclusive to Xiaomi’s home turf of China. This is business as usual for Xiaomi though; it releases its flagships in China first, before a wider rollout months later, usually early the following year.
If we go by the Xiaomi 15 range launch, we should expect it to appear in early 2026, likely coinciding with MWC 2026.
We don’t have international pricing just yet, but the Xiaomi 17 Pro starts at CNY 5,000 while the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max comes in at CNY 6,000 in its home region.
The Xiaomi 17 Pro is more pocketable
While both sport the same overall design and unique second screen on the rear, the Xiaomi 17 Pro is easily the more pocketable of the two.
The Pro features a much smaller screen than its Pro Max counterpart, and that means that it has a much smaller form factor, measuring in at 151.1mm tall compared to the Pro Max’s 162.9mm, and at 71.8mm compared to 77.6mm, it’s not quite as wide either. Both measure in at the same 8mm thick, however.
The Pro is also slightly lighter at 192g compared to 219g, and combined with the smaller dimensions, should make it much more comfortable to hold and use on a day-to-day basis – though we’ll confirm that once we’ve gone hands-on.
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max has a larger screen
As alluded to above, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max has the larger screen of the two models, measuring in at a pretty large 6.9 inches, especially compared to the 17 Pro’s 6.3-inch alternative.
That said, size is the only real difference between the two phones; regardless of the model you get, you’ll be treated to the same LTPO-enabled AMOLED screen with a super-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, support for Folby Vision, HDR Vivid and HDR10+, along with 2160Hz PWM dimming and a peak brightness of 3500nits.
Ironically, the smaller phone has a slightly higher resolution (1220 x 2656 compared to 1200 x 2608) than its larger sibling, representing a pixel density of 464ppi compared to the Pro Max’s 416ppi, but you’ll likely not be able to notice the difference in everyday use.
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max has a bigger battery
With a bigger screen and a bigger chassis to accommodate it, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to find out that the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max has the larger battery of the two – and by quite a bit too.
Within the 17 Pro Max, you’ll find a massive 7500mAh silicon-carbon battery that’s easily among the largest available on any phone on the market right now. For comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 4823mAh cell, or 5088mAh if you opt for the eSIM-only variant.
To be fair to the 17 Pro, it still has a pretty substantial battery considering its much more pocketable dimensions, with the 6300mAh silicon carbon battery outpacing the 5000mAh cell of the much larger Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Elsewhere, both offer the same support for 100W charging, both via Xiaomi’s HyperCharge standard and PPS, along with 50W HyperCharge wireless charging and 22.5W reverse wireless as a nice little extra.
Both feature an identical camera setup
Some manufacturers differentiate between Pro models of flagship smartphones in the camera department, but that’s not the case with the Xiaomi 17 Pro collection; both the Pro and Pro Max come with the exact same high-end camera setup.
That’s comprised of a triple 50MP camera setup, featuring a 1/1.28-inch main sensor with a wide f/1.7 aperture, along with a 5x periscope lens and a 102-degree ultrawide – all of which are Leica-branded and come with Leica filters to add more of an artistic look to shots.
Similarly, both can record at up to 8K@30fps with HDR, along with 4K at up to 120fps. Both can also record in 10-bit Dolby Vision HDR, and both also offer LOG capabilities ideal for pro-level content creation.
Flip the phones around and you’ll also find identical 50MP selfie cameras, complete with autofocus.
Both run HyperOS 3 based on Android 16
Regardless of the model you opt for, you’ll be getting the same refreshed HyperOS 3 UI on top of Android 16. Xiaomi’s skin has come a long way since the over-bloated days of MIUI, with a more user-friendly, clean interface.
There are still plenty of additional features and functionality that extend what you can do with the phone, and there’s also better support for Xiaomi’s wider ecosystem of devices in HyperOS 3, but for the most part, these can be ignored if you’re not interested in using them.
Early thoughts
Unlike some Pro-level iPhones that keep the truly top-end tech to the larger model, for the most part, you’re getting a consistent experience whether you go for the Xiaomi 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max. Both sport the same high-end camera setup, the same 2-inch rear screen and even the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.
There are some differences, of course; the 17 Pro has a smaller screen and, as such, is lighter and more pocketable than the larger Pro Max. The size difference also means the Pro Max model has a larger battery – but for the most part, the experience is overwhelmingly consistent.
That said, we’ll reserve our final thoughts until we’ve spent some time with both Xiaomi flagships – hopefully sometime in early 2026 if Xiaomi follows the blueprints of previous flagship releases.
