The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is presented as 'China’s own iPhone 17 Pro Max,' heavily mimicking Apple's design and naming conventions while offering distinct features like a secondary display and a large battery.
Takeways• Xiaomi 17 Pro Max intentionally mirrors iPhone 17 series in naming and design.
• Features a secondary display on the camera module for quick interactions.
• Packs a massive 7500mAh battery and is first with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
Xiaomi has launched its 17 Pro Max, intentionally aligning its naming and aesthetics with the upcoming iPhone 17 series to position itself as a premium competitor. Despite extensive copying of Apple's design and UI elements, the device introduces innovative features such as a functional secondary display on the camera module and a significantly larger battery capacity than iPhones. It also boasts a powerful new processor and a customized Android operating system, HyperOS 3.
Xiaomi's iPhone Mimicry
• 00:00:29 Xiaomi has deliberately adopted the '17 Pro Max' naming convention, skipping its 16 series to sync with the iPhone 17 series, with model names being exact matches. This mimicry extends to the camera module design, UI, icons, and even specific liquid glass elements, all intended to associate Xiaomi's premium phones with Apple's brand and market positioning.
Innovative Dual Screen
• 00:01:16 Beyond its imitative aspects, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max features a creative 2.83-inch LTPO AMOLED secondary display integrated into the camera module. This screen provides quick access to notifications, camera controls for high-quality selfies with any lens, custom wallpapers, and call answering, enhancing usability without needing to fully activate the main screen.
Battery and Performance
• 00:02:08 Despite being thinner and lighter than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max houses a substantial 7500mAh battery, more than double an iPhone's capacity, and supports 100-watt PPS fast charging, 50-watt wireless charging, and 22.5-watt reverse wireless charging. It is also the first phone to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, although initial benchmark scores show mixed results compared to previous generations.
HyperOS 3 and Gaming Case
• 00:03:23 The phone is Xiaomi's first to run HyperOS 3 out of the box, which integrates both original features and elements heavily 'copied' from iOS, including app icons, control center aesthetics, and lock screen effects. Additionally, a unique accessory, a special case that doubles as a Bluetooth gaming controller, enhances its gaming capabilities, though its full functionality could not be tested on a Chinese unit.