Xiaomi squares up to Apple and Samsung with bold new Android phones

Xiaomi has announced the Xiaomi 17T and 17T Pro, two Android phones priced similarly to the iPhone 17 and Galaxy S26, but with many specs that outgun Apple and Samsung.

The two phones are cheaper alternatives to the Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Ultra launched in the UK earlier this year, but still pack in impressive, flagship-level specs that could tempt discerning Android buyers away from Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones.

The £799 Xiaomi 17T Pro costs the same as the iPhone 17 and the Google Pixel 10 but boasts a comfortably larger battery than either, with a whopping 7,000mAh cell squeezed inside. This is thanks to Xiaomi’s embrace of silicon-carbon tech, which can pack more power into a smaller space than traditional lithium ion batteries.

LIke the regular 17T, It has a stark industrial design in black, blue or a charming violet, and is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9500, a high-end chipset. It also packs in a 144Hz 6.83-inch OLED screen and triple cameras led by an impressive-sounding, large 1/1.31-inch 50MP sensor main lens and 50MP periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. This enables 30cm macro photography and, thanks to AI, up to “120x AI Ultra Zoom”.

This 5x optical zoom is rare to find on phones less than £1,000 - although I concede £799 for a phone isn’t exactly affordable to many. But you don’t lose Xiaomi’s Leica partnership by opting for this phone rather than the £1,299 17 Ultra. The legendary camera firm lends its prowess here too, most notably on several film-like filters in the camera app.

If you want to spend a little less, the regular 17T starts at £649, cutting some corners by using the Dimensity 8500 Ultra, a 1/1.55-inch main camera, and having a smaller 6.59-inch screen and slightly smaller - but still enormous - 6,500mAh silicon-carbon battery. One thing it does lack is wireless charging, but wired speeds can hit 67W.

What I’m most impressed about though is that this cheaper phone gets the same 5x telephoto sensor - a big win at £649.

The Pro can charge at 100W wired and 50W wirelessly, though neither device comes with a charger in the box in the UK, much like most phones these days.

I loved last year’s Xiaomi 15T Pro, especially for its cameras, which offered excellent versatility and a warm, considered image processing that made me want to take more photos - the sign of a good camera.

With the arrival of the 17T series less than a year later, it’s great that UK buyers have a genuine competitor to Apple, Samsung and Google at the same price point as those company’s flagship phones. With the 17T and 17T Pro getting five years of Android updates and six years of security updates - that’s nearly as good as Google and Samsung’s seven years for both.

I do wish Xiaomi wouldn’t try to mimic the iPhone’s iOS software so directly, but I guess if you’re trying to take on Apple and steal its customers, that’s one way to go about it.

The phones are both going on sale in the UK soon.