Xiaomi 17 Pro Max hands-on review

Design and build

As we mentioned earlier, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is very similar to the iPhone 17 Pro Max in terms of design, but it one-ups Apple with a secondary display on the back. The two phones feel very similar in hand, too. Firstly, because Xiaomi's Pro Max feels just as premium in the hand as the iPhone 17 Pro Max and secondly, dimensions are nearly identical.

Xiaomi adopts a flat side frame design with slight curvatures towards the front and back panels for a more seamless transition. The front panel is protected by Xiaomi Dragon Crystal 3, but the back glass is not explicitly stated, so we assume it's not a special glass.

Xiaomi 17 Pro Max

The handset is compliant with the IP68 standard for water and dust resistance. The 17 Pro Max can go underwater up to 6 meters for 30 minutes. That's 2 meters more than the non-Max 17 Pro for those keeping track - it's unlikely you will end up in a situation where that makes a difference, but it's still good to know the water resistance has improved.

The design is actually somewhat simpler than Apple's, aside from the prominent secondary 2.9-inch OLED screen, and we tend to like it better. The camera bump is fairly symmetrical and unobtrusive.

Secondary screen

Let's start with the highlight - the secondary display on the back. It's a fully functional touchscreen that supports various widgets and even integrates third-party apps. For instance, you can see the license plate of the taxi you ordered, or access your Spotify playlists.

Notably, the third-party support for the secondary screen is limited to Chinese apps only, since the phones are available only in China, at least for now. The only "western" app that has a widget for the small screen is Spotify.

The system will also show you contextual information, notes, timers, notifications, steps, etc. So even if the phone doesn't get support from other apps early on, it's still useful with the system apps.

Perhaps the most useful case for many users will be a viewfinder for taking selfies with the main camera (rendering the selfie camera upgrade less important). Xiaomi has ported a fully functional camera app with zoom toggles, settings, shutter controls, and everything else. Needless to say, the three large-sensor cameras on the back will allow taking far better selfies, especially in low-light conditions.

If you are taking photos of other people, your subjects will appreciate seeing themselves on the back screen as well.