I don't envy the Xiaomi 17 Ultra making its debut during MWC 2026. It comes hot on the heels of a different brand's ultra flagship, which is no doubt hogging some attention that Xiaomi would otherwise be getting. But fortunately for the 17 Ultra, it's not really playing in the same league as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Xiaomi's ultra phones are designed to be content creation machines, and with the addition of a variable zoom telephoto camera, the 17 Ultra takes new strides in that area. While I am a bit disappointed that the 17 Ultra doesn't follow from the Xiaomi 17 Pro and its rear display design, its singular obsession with camera hardware arguably justifies leaving it out.
