I absolutely loved the Leitzphone by Xiaomi and Leica — and the many great photos I took with it — but at £1,700 ($2,279) it’s out of reach for those of us without “CEO” or “Oil Baron” in our job title. But thankfully Xiaomi makes a variety of phones at very reasonable prices. Its latest midrange smartphone — the 17T Pro — has a lot to offer for its reasonable price tag.
From its metal construction and Leica-branded rear camera setup to its rugged performance, it packs pretty much everything you’d need in a phone every day. Even better, its €899 (about £779 or $1,045 although it won’t be sold officially in the US) means it won’t break the bank.
I’ve had the phone in my hand for about an hour so I can’t yet judge whether this phone is a competitor to budget phones like the Pixel 10A, similarly priced phones like the iPhone 17, or pricier models like Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra. But I had some initial thoughts that I wanted to share. So here we go.
Xiaomi 17T Pro: Sleek design, blue
The body of the phone is made of metal and I think it feels nice to hold. It has a solidity to it that makes it feel more premium than you would expect at this price. I also love the deep blue color — it manages to look stylish but also smart. I love technology with a bit of personality (like Nothing’s pink Phone 4A Pro or my recently refurbished pink Leica Q3 43) so anything beyond the usual black, silver or white is good for me.
Blue metal is a beautiful metal.
It’s IP68 rated for protection against water or dust and its 6.83-inch display is big, bright and bold enough to do justice to mobile games and YouTube videos.
Xiaomi 17T Pro: Leica cameras
The phone packs three rear cameras including a 50 megapixel primary camera, a 50 megapixel telephoto camera (offering 5x optical zoom) and a 12 megapixel ultrawide camera. The main camera apparently uses the Leica Summilux lens feature for sharper images, which I’m looking forward to trying out. I don’t expect it to compete with the Leitzphone’s imaging prowess — that phone packs high-end imaging technology, hence the price — but I do expect it to be able to deliver good photos in most situations.
It has a lot of competition though as budget-focused phones like the Pixel 10A and Nothing Phone 4A Pro can deliver bright, sharp images at affordable prices, so I’m curious to see how the 17T Pro stacks up against the competition.
The Leica name is displayed in bold.
Xiaomi 17T Pro: Processor and battery
Powering the phone is a MediaTek Dimensity 9500 processor that brought us strong scores in our benchmark test. It was on par with last year’s elite like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the iPhone 17, but not quite a challenge for today’s flagships like the S26 Ultra or the Honor Magic 8 Pro. For what it’s worth though, it’s a very good effort and I found it more than capable of playing games like PUBG on high settings while still delivering smooth gameplay.
It runs on a powerful 7,000-mAh silicon carbon battery, which I expect to give you a full day of use. And if you start running out of time in the evening, it supports 100W wireless charging to quickly restore the juice — as long as you have a compatible charger.
That screen is bright and bold.
Xiaomi 17T Pro: Should you buy it?
While it’s too early to give a final verdict on the 17T Pro, it ticks a lot of the boxes I’d look for in a phone of this price. The camera specs are solid, the battery size seems pretty generous and I’m already impressed with its processor performance. The smart blue finish is the cherry on top.
While it won’t be challenging the Leitzphone for the 2026 photography crown, its all-around specs make it look like a solid everyday choice for those who don’t feel like spending all the money in your bank account on a new phone. Stay tuned for more as I see what this phone can do.
