Xiaomi 17 Pro Max Review: The “Phablet” Returns from the Dead

If you thought the “Pro Max” suffix was exclusively Apple territory, Xiaomi has a 219-gram bridge to sell you. Released alongside the standard 17 and 17 Pro back in September, and now finally hitting global import markets, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is a confusing beast. It’s not the camera-centric “Ultra” (that’s coming later this month with a rumored 200MP lens), but it’s physically larger than almost anything else you can buy.

Based on the hard data we’ve pulled from GSMArena and the latest leaks circulating the tech sphere, this phone is less about finesse and more about brute force. It is a 6.9-inch slab of excess that screams, “I have a bigger battery than you.”

Here is the no-nonsense review grounded in the reality of late 2025 hardware.

Design & Build: A Titanium Surfboard

• Dimensions: 162.9 x 77.6 x 8 mm

• Weight: 219g

• Build: Titanium alloy frame, Dragon Crystal Glass

Let’s be real: at 6.9 inches, this isn’t a phone; it’s a small tablet that makes phone calls. Xiaomi has finally moved to a titanium alloy frame to shave off weight, landing at 219g. That sounds heavy, but considering the battery inside (more on that later), it’s actually an engineering miracle.

The screen is a massive LTPO AMOLED panel pushing a resolution of 1200 x 2608 pixels. According to the spec sheets, we’re looking at 3,500 nits of peak brightness. In the real world? It burns your retinas at 2 AM. The IP69 rating (yes, 69, not 68) means this thing can withstand high-pressure water jets, so feel free to power wash it when it inevitably gets covered in fingerprints.

Under the Hood: The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Era

• SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3nm)

• RAM: 12GB / 16GB LPDDR5X

• Storage: UFS 4.1

This is one of the first globally available devices to sport the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Qualcomm has pushed the prime cores to a ludicrous 3.8 GHz.

What does this mean for you? It means Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero are no longer benchmarks; they are warm-ups. The raw throughput of this chip destroys anything from 2024. However, early reports from Chinese users suggest that while the burst performance is uncharted territory, the phone does get toasty near the camera module during extended sessions. Physics is still physics, even with 3nm chips.

The Gaming Experience: Frame Rate Overkill

• Call of Duty: Warzone: You are looking at a locked 120 FPS on Max settings. The Adreno 840 GPU is frankly overkill for current mobile titles.

• Emulation: With the sheer clock speed of the Oryon CPU cores, Switch and PC emulation on Android (via Winlator) is more viable here than on any previous Xiaomi device.

The screen’s 120Hz refresh rate (GSMArena confirms it is not 165Hz, contrary to some early rumors) is standard, but the touch sampling rate is excellent. The flat display—thankfully dropped the curves of the 15 Pro—means no more accidental grenade throws because your palm touched the edge.

Battery Life: The Silicon Carbon Revolution

• Capacity: 7,500 mAh

• Charging: 100W Wired, 50W Wireless

This is the headline. This is why you buy this phone. Xiaomi has utilized silicon-carbon battery technology to stuff a staggering 7,500 mAh cell into an 8mm chassis.

To put that in perspective: The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is rumored to stick with 5,000 mAh. The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max offers 50% more capacity. In daily usage, this is a legitimate “two-day phone.” You can game for 6 hours straight and still have juice to doom-scroll Reddit until you pass out. The 100W charging tops it up in roughly 35 minutes—slower than the 120W/200W demos of the past, but necessary for a battery this dense.

Cameras: The “Good Enough” Trio

• Main: 50 MP, f/1.4-f/2.0 variable aperture (Leica optics)

• Telephoto: 50 MP Periscope (3.2x optical)

• Ultrawide: 50 MP

Here is where the “Pro Max” differs from the “Ultra.” You do not get the rumored 200MP periscope zoom lens found on the upcoming 17 Ultra. Instead, you get a sensible, high-quality triple 50MP setup.

It takes fantastic photos. The Leica color science is still the best in the industry for moody, contrast-heavy street photography (“Leica Authentic” mode). But if you want to zoom in 100x and see the craters on the moon, you need to wait for the Ultra. For 99% of gamers and users, this camera system is excellent, but it’s not the absolute ceiling of mobile photography.

Daily Drivers: HyperOS 3

The phone launches with Android 16 skinned with HyperOS 3.

• The Good: Animations are fluid, and the interconnectivity with Xiaomi tablets/laptops is seamless.

• The Bad: As confirmed by multiple import reviews, the bloatware situation is still annoying. Expect to find “Bubble Shooter” and random booking apps pre-installed. You spend the first 20 minutes of ownership deleting junk.

Verdict: The Endurance King

The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is a very specific tool for a specific job. It is not the ultimate camera phone (that’s the Ultra). It is not the most compact phone.

It is a media consumption monster. It is for the gamer who wants a screen the size of a windshield and a battery that refuses to die. If you prioritize Screen-on-Time (SoT) above all else, this is the best phone on the market in late 2025.

Is it Worth It?
If you can handle the size and the price (approx. $1,050 USD imported), absolutely. It renders the concept of a “power bank” obsolete.