Xiaomi’s new Ultra phone comes with a rotating zoom ring
The Chinese giant is betting on hands-on camera controls and Leica-backed optics to tempt photography enthusiasts away from rival premium phones
Xiaomi closed the year with the new 17 Ultra smartphone, primarily targeted for people who care about cameras first and phones second.
The headline feature this time is a physical zoom ring embedded into the camera island, turning the phone into something closer to a compact camera.
The rotating ring appears only on the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica. It can control zoom by default, but users can assign it to exposure or focus.
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The special edition also carries Leica branding, a textured grip, and subtle software tweaks, including Leica film-style effects. A lens cap and cleaning cloth complete the camera-inspired package.
Photography remains the main selling point for the device — it uses a 50-megapixel main camera with a large one-inch-type sensor and a wide aperture for low light scenes. The more striking change, however, is the telephoto camera.
Xiaomi has replaced two separate zoom lenses with a single 200-megapixel periscope unit. It offers continuous optical zoom from 3.2x to 4.3x, paired with a variable aperture. This allows smoother framing without the quality loss of digital steps.
Inside, the phone matches other top-tier flagships. It runs on Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, with up to 16GB of RAM and as much as 1TB of storage. The 6.9-inch OLED display is large and bright. A 6,800mAh silicon-carbon battery supports longer shooting sessions, helped by improved heat control.
Xiaomi positions the 17 Ultra as a rival to Apple's iPhone Pro Max, especially in mobile imaging. The phone starts at 6,999 yuan ($1,000), while the Leica edition costs 7,999 yuan. Xiaomi has confirmed a global launch in early 2026.
