Xiaomi squares up to Apple and Samsung with bold | Tech News

Xiaomi has introduced the Xiaomi 17T and 17T Pro, two Android telephones priced equally to the iPhone 17 and Galaxy S26, however with many specs that outgun Apple and Samsung.

The two telephones are cheaper alternate options to the Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Ultra launched within the UK earlier this 12 months, however nonetheless pack in spectacular, flagship-level specs that might tempt discerning Android consumers away from Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel telephones.

The £799 Xiaomi 17T Pro prices the identical because the iPhone 17 and the Google Pixel 10 however boasts a comfortably bigger battery than both, with a whopping 7,000mAh cell squeezed inside. This is thanks to Xiaomi’s embrace of silicon-carbon tech, which may pack more energy into a smaller space than conventional lithium ion batteries.

LIke the common 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 additionally packs in a 144Hz 6.83-inch OLED screen and triple cameras led by an impressive-sounding, massive 1/1.31-inch 50MP sensor most important lens and 50MP periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. This permits 30cm macro images and, thanks to AI, up to “120x AI Ultra Zoom”.

This 5x optical zoom is uncommon to discover on telephones much less than £1,000 – though I concede £799 for a cellphone isn’t precisely inexpensive to many. But you don’t lose Xiaomi’s Leica partnership by choosing this cellphone fairly than the £1,299 17 Ultra. The legendary digital camera firm lends its prowess right here too, most notably on a number of film-like filters within the digital camera app.

If you need to spend a little much less, the common 17T begins at £649, slicing some corners through the use of the Dimensity 8500 Ultra, a 1/1.55-inch most important digital camera, and having a smaller 6.59-inch screen and barely smaller – however nonetheless monumental – 6,500mAh silicon-carbon battery. One factor it does lack is wi-fi charging, however wired speeds can hit 67W.

What I’m most impressed about although is that this cheaper cellphone will get the identical 5x telephoto sensor – a large win at £649.

The Pro can charge at 100W wired and 50W wirelessly, although neither machine comes with a charger within the box within the UK, very like most telephones nowadays.

I liked final 12 months’s Xiaomi 15T Pro, particularly for its cameras, which supplied glorious versatility and a heat, thought-about image processing that made me need to take more images – the signal of a good digital camera.

With the arrival of the 17T sequence much less than a 12 months later, it’s great that UK consumers have a real competitor to Apple, Samsung and Google on the similar price level as these company’s flagship telephones. With the 17T and 17T Pro getting 5 years of Android updates and six years of security updates – that’s practically nearly as good as Google and Samsung’s seven years for each.

I do want Xiaomi wouldn’t strive to mimic the iPhone’s iOS software program so instantly, however I assume for those who’re attempting to tackle Apple and steal its clients, that’s a technique to go about it.

The telephones are each occurring sale within the UK quickly.