Xiaomi 17T Review: The Best Premium Midrange Phone Right Now?

Xiaomi’s latest premium midrange phone, the Xiaomi 17T has officially arrived and if you remember, last year’s Xiaomi 15T was already a very successful model in this segment. But this year, the competition is much tougher. We have phones like the Galaxy A57, Honor 600, Nothing Phone 4A Pro, Vivo V70, and Poco X8 Pro Max competing in the same premium midrange space.

On top of that, phone prices have also gone up recently because of the ongoing RAM shortage. So yes, the Xiaomi 17T is also slightly more expensive this time. But the real question is: is the Xiaomi 17T the most balanced premium midrange phone right now?

Before using this phone, my number one choice in this segment was the Vivo V70, followed by the Nothing Phone 4A Pro and then the Galaxy A57. But after using the Xiaomi 17T for around a week, I feel like my ranking might change because Xiaomi has packed some seriously impressive hardware here. So, let’s start with the review. 

Xiaomi 17T Specifications

• Display: 6.59-inch AMOLED, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 3840Hz PWM dimming
• Build: Gorilla Glass 7i (display), plastic frames, IP68 rating
• Weight: 200 grams
• Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Ultra
• Software: Android 16 with HyperOS 3
• Memory: Up to 12GB RAM, 512GB storage, UFS 4.1
• Rear Camera: 50MP main + 50MP 5x periscope telephoto + 12MP ultrawide
• Front Camera: 32MP
• Battery: 6,500mAh Si/C battery
• Charging: 67W wired (charger provided inside the box)
• Speakers: Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos
• Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, IR blaster
• Colors: Violet, Blue, Opal White, Black
• Price: 

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Unboxing

Let’s start with the unboxing because Xiaomi still gives you a proper box experience. Unlike Samsung and Nothing, where you don’t get a charger inside the box, Xiaomi includes a 67W fast charger here. And this charger can fully charge the phone in around one hour, which is very convenient.

You also get a good-quality case inside the box, and there is a pre-applied screen protector as well. So, right out of the box, you don’t immediately have to spend extra money on basic accessories.

Design and Build

The first thing I liked about the Xiaomi 17T is the design. This year, Xiaomi has made the phone slightly more compact, and I think that is a very good decision. Compact phones are slowly coming back into trend, and compared to last year’s Xiaomi 15T, which had a large 6.83-inch display, this year’s 6.59-inch display size feels much more practical.

In hand, the Xiaomi 17T feels comfortable. It does not feel too big or bulky, and I think this size is almost perfect for a premium midrange phone. I also really like the color options this year. I have the pink variant with me, and honestly, it looks very nice in person. It is stylish without looking too loud. The other color options are also quite eye-catching.

For protection, Xiaomi has used Gorilla Glass 7i on the front, and you also get an IP68 rating, which is great to see in this segment.

The frame is plastic, and yes, I would have preferred a metal frame at this price. But the good thing is that the phone does not feel cheap. In fact, because of the plastic frame, the phone is not too heavy either. 

Display

The display is easily one of the biggest highlights of the Xiaomi 17T. You get a high-quality OLED panel, and I think this is probably the only phone in this price range with 12-bit color depth. Most competing phones usually offer 8-bit or 10-bit panels, but this display can produce 68 billion colors.

And you can actually feel that while watching good-quality content. The phone also supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. I recently watched “War Machine” on Netflix, which supports Dolby Vision, and honestly, the colors and contrast looked excellent. The experience was genuinely enjoyable. 

So compared to most competing phones, the multimedia experience on the Xiaomi 17T feels top-class. Brightness is also very good. I think this is one of the brightest displays in this segment. Low brightness also goes really low, so using the phone at night is comfortable as well.

The 120Hz refresh rate is smooth, touch response is responsive, and I did not notice any major lag or delay while scrolling or navigating through the UI. Overall, I think the Xiaomi 17T has one of the best display experiences in this price range.

Speakers

The speakers are good enough, but I would not call them amazing. For watching movies, YouTube videos, and casual content, they do the job. Loudness is fine, and vocals are clear enough. But I did feel that the bass is lacking.

Performance

Performance is where the Xiaomi 17T really starts to pull ahead of the competition. This phone is powered by the Dimensity 8500 Ultra chipset, and this is much more powerful than what you get on phones like the Samsung Galaxy A57, Vivo V70, or Nothing Phone 4A Pro.

Even if you look at benchmark scores, the difference is quite big. But more importantly, the phone feels fast in real-world usage. If you are someone who plays heavy games, you will definitely enjoy the Xiaomi 17T. The overall fluidity, frame stability, and 1% lows are better than most other phones in this segment. 

Yes, the phone does get slightly warm during long gaming sessions, but compared to other premium midrange phones, the performance experience here is much better. In fact, the phone feels almost close to flagship-level in day-to-day speed.

I also think this phone will age better than some of its competitors. Even after 2 to 3 years, I feel the Xiaomi 17T will still feel fast, whereas some Vivo or Samsung midrange phones might start feeling slower over time. Haptics are also good. Typing feels nice, and the vibration feedback is satisfying. So if performance is your priority, this is one of the strongest phones in this segment.

Software

Now, Xiaomi’s software always gets some criticism, and I understand why. HyperOS is still not as polished as Samsung’s One UI or Nothing OS. Those two still feel cleaner and more refined in terms of overall software experience.

But with HyperOS 3.0, I don’t think the experience is bad. In my usage, the phone felt stable, animations were smooth, and thankfully, I did not face annoying ads. Xiaomi is also offering a good number of software updates, which is nice to see. So while I still prefer One UI and Nothing OS in terms of polish, HyperOS 3.0 on the Xiaomi 17T is not a dealbreaker for me.

Battery and Charging

Battery life is another strong point of this phone. The Xiaomi 17T comes with a 6,500mAh silicon-carbon battery, and the endurance is excellent. In my usage, the phone easily lasted around one and a half days, and with lighter usage, I think many people can even push it close to two days.

Battery optimization also seems good. On most days, after using the phone from morning till evening, I still had around 40 to 50% battery left.

Charging is also fast because Xiaomi includes a 67W charger inside the box. It can fully charge the phone in under one hour, which is very convenient. 

Cameras

Usually, cameras used to be the weak point of Xiaomi’s midrange phones. But ever since Xiaomi started working with Leica, its camera game has improved a lot. Earlier, Leica tuning was mostly limited to Xiaomi’s flagship phones. But now, that color science is slowly coming to Xiaomi’s premium midrange phones as well, including the Xiaomi 17T.

The camera setup here is quite interesting. You get a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 50MP 5x telephoto camera. On the front, there is a 32MP selfie camera. And yes, the main highlight here is definitely the 5x telephoto camera.

5x Telephoto Camera

The 5x telephoto camera is what makes the Xiaomi 17T stand out from the competition. In this price range, most brands don’t offer a proper 5x optical zoom camera. Some phones give you a 3x or 3.5x telephoto lens, while phones like the Galaxy A57 and Honor 600 don’t even have a telephoto camera.

The 5x camera takes really good portraits, especially when you use Master Portrait mode. Photos look sharp, colors are punchy, edge detection is good, and skin tones also look nice. Because of the 5x perspective, subject separation also looks more natural and premium. Portraits have that nice compressed look that you don’t usually get from regular wide cameras.

And because this is a Leica-tuned camera system, you also get different black-and-white portrait modes. It is not as good as Xiaomi’s flagship phones, but for this price range, I think it is very nice. 

The 5x camera also works as a macro camera. It does not let you go extremely close like flagship macro systems, and you have to shoot from a little distance, but the results are still decent.

Main Camera

The main camera uses a 50MP Light Fusion 800 sensor. It is not Xiaomi’s absolute best sensor, but the image optimization is quite good. You get Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant color profiles. If you like dramatic, contrast-heavy photos, Leica Authentic gives you that look. Personally, I used Leica Vibrant most of the time because it produces more eye-pleasing, colorful, and ready-to-share photos.

In daylight, low light, and even slightly challenging conditions, I was surprised by the photos I got from this phone. 

The colors look good, dynamic range is handled well, and the overall processing feels much more mature than older Xiaomi midrange phones.

Ultrawide Camera

The ultrawide camera is also better than I expected. Usually, in this price range, the biggest issue with ultrawide cameras is color inconsistency. The main camera produces one type of color, and the ultrawide produces a completely different tone. But on the Xiaomi 17T, I did not notice that problem as much. Xiaomi has done a good job keeping the color science consistent between the main and ultrawide cameras. Of course, the ultrawide is not extremely wide. It feels more like a 15mm to 16mm equivalent field of view. But the output is still quite good for this segment.

Video

Videography is also solid. You can shoot 4K 30fps videos from all three rear cameras, and the main and 5x cameras can even shoot up to 4K 60fps. You can also switch between all three lenses while recording at 4K 30fps, which is useful. Stabilization, colors, and detail levels are good overall. I would not say this is the best video phone in the segment, but it is definitely reliable enough for most users.

Selfie Camera

The 32MP selfie camera is also good. Selfies have nice skin tones, and I like that Xiaomi is not over-processing or over-sharpening the face too much. The output looks clean and usable for social media. Selfie video (upto 4K 30fps) and microphone quality are also decent enough for casual vlogging, stories, and video calls.

Verdict

Overall, I think a great premium midrange phone needs to have five strong pillars: design and build, display experience, performance and software, camera, and battery life. And honestly, the Xiaomi 17T scores either an A or A-minus in almost all of these areas.

The design is comfortable, the display is excellent, performance is the best in its class, battery life is strong, and the Leica-tuned camera system and the 5x telephoto camera gives this phone a clear edge over the competition. So, under one lakh in Nepal, I think the Xiaomi 17T might just be the best value-for-money phone to buy right now.

Pros and Cons