the screen of the Xiaomi 17T Pro impressed us on this point

The Xiaomi 17T Pro has moved to 01lab. After publishing the full test, here are our observations in terms of HDR brightness.

The Xiaomi 17T Pro has just passed the 01lab tests with a result in HDR brightness rarely seen on smartphones, even the most high-end. An interesting point for users who want to view this type of content on their phones.

Presentation of the Xiaomi 17T Pro

The Xiaomi 17T Pro, the latest addition to the Chinese brand, has a 6.83-inch AMOLED screen and a resolution of 447 ppi. It benefits from a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Now let’s return to the test of its screen within the 01lab.

01lab screen test protocol

We are used to testing the brightness and colorimetry of smartphones. Among the things we measure are minimum and maximum brightness. Finally, we measure the HDR light peak. It is the latter that interests us more particularly today.

The HDR light peak is recorded using a colorimetric probe and Portrait Display’s Calman Ultimate software. To measure it, we ask the smartphone to display HDR content using a test pattern. It pushes the screen to its limits by forcing it to display the maximum light peak of which it is capable.

The light target occupies an area of ​​the screen ranging from 1 to 100% to verify good performance. Note, however, a small limitation in our protocol. Indeed, on a screen as small as that of a smartphone, we cannot precisely measure the performance on the 1, 2 and 5% targets. A limit that we do not find on a large 65-inch television.

This is why our smartphone measurements generally show the best performance on targets occupying 10 or 25% of the screen area. Moreover, in most cases we note a drop in performance beyond that. This drop can be explained by the inability of the screen to produce a significant light peak over such an area or simply by a limit which aims to reduce the impact on the autonomy of the phone.

What is HDR used for?

HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a display technology that improves the quality of an image by increasing the brightness range and providing more nuance in dark areas, while expanding the range of displayable colors. Unlike SDR, HDR will provide better contrast to the image and better balance between dark areas and light areas. This technology is used on all types of screens (televisions, smartphones, etc.).

All these measurements to calculate the HDR light peak that a smartphone is capable of producing give an idea of ​​the video quality capable of being maintained by the smartphone when broadcasting a video. Unfortunately, within 01lab, we have the technical constraint of only being able to calculate HDR only in brightness and not in color.

Xiaomi 17T Pro result

In our tests, the Xiaomi 17T Pro impressed us. Indeed, its HDR peak has climbed to 2011 cd/m², one of the best on the market. But this excellent performance is not the only thing that caught our attention. In fact, the Xiaomi 17T Pro manages to maintain this score on all the targets, up to 100% of the screen area. This result is rather rare, often shared by poorly performing products which have no difficulty in displaying a weak light peak over the entire surface of the screen.

More generally, we have observed a trend towards offering increasingly higher maximum brightness on the market since the end of 2025. If the Xiaomi 17T Pro is not positioned at the top of the ranking, it offers excellent general performance. More specifically on HDR, the Xiaomi 17T Pro is placed in fourth place. We notice that Xiaomi is making a particular effort on the HDR light peak by placing three of its smartphones in the top 5 of this ranking.

First place is taken by the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL with an HDR light peak at 2198 cd/m² closely followed by the Realme 16 Pro + which reaches 2097 cd/m². There are then three Xiaomi smartphones which complete the top 5: the 17 Ultra, the 17T Pro and the 17 which respectively reach 2046 cd/m², 2011 cd/m² and 1926 cd/m². Besides, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has already impressed us with its brightness.

A little further down the ranking, we find in particular the Honor 600 and 600 Pro which offer a performance between 1600 and 1800 cd/m². However, the Honor 600 Pro holds the absolute record by displaying almost 6000 cd/m² in its “boost” mode. Finally, further down in the ranking, we find Apple and Samsung with the iPhone 17 Pro with an HDR of 1571 cd/m² and the Galaxy S26 at 1447 cd/m².

This result, rare enough to underline it, demonstrates a very good HDR brightness peak, but most smartphones, even the most high-end, do not achieve this result.

Please note, however, that if your smartphone does not offer you such a result, it is not necessary to change it. Indeed, this result does not make the Xiaomi 17T Pro more attractive than another and only offers a small competitive advantage. HDR is mainly aimed at consumers of films and series on their smartphones or even fans of video games on their phones.

👉🏻 Follow tech news in real time: add 01net to your sources on Google, and subscribe to our WhatsApp channel.