Xiaomi (1810.HK) has launched its new 17 Ultra flagship in partnership with Leica, introducing a mechanical zoom ring that allows users to control zoom physically while also launching the camera app when rotated.
Both the standard 17 Ultra and the Leica Edition are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and offer up to 16GB of LPDDR5X memory and 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. The phones feature a 6.9-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with peak brightness reaching 3,500 nits, a 6,800mAh silicon-carbon battery, and support for 90W wired and 50W wireless charging.
The camera system is built around a 1-inch 50MP main sensor and a 1/1.4-inch 200MP periscope telephoto lens, supported by a 50MP ultrawide camera and a 50MP front-facing camera.
The Leica Edition adds several design and software touches, including a two-tone body finish, textured edges, Leica film simulations, and a red status dot on the front. The manual zoom ring is sensitive enough to detect very small movements and can be reassigned to functions such as manual focus or exposure control.
Additional features include a Leica Moments shooting mode in a 3:2 aspect ratio, a dedicated encryption chip, and dual-satellite connectivity. The special edition also ships with accessories such as a lens cap, lanyard, magnetic case, and a branded cleaning cloth.
Despite expectations that Chinese-market models would be priced lower, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica starts at CNY 7,999, or about $1,140, while the regular 17 Ultra begins at CNY 6,999, or roughly $995, both with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The pricing places the devices in direct competition with other premium flagships such as Google's Pixel 10 and Samsung's Galaxy S25 series.
Wednesday 1810.HK closed at HK$39.22 or 0.05% higher on the HKSE.
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