The benefit of smartphones in 2026 is that the majority of them can take glorious pictures. The developments in cell digicam expertise over the past decade are astonishing, to the purpose we now have 1-inch sensors in some Android telephones regardless of the house constraints.
That measurement sensor is similar you’ll discover in cameras such because the beloved Sony RX100 vary, and bigger than point-and-shoot cameras launched lately from companies comparable to Panasonic.
The most recent 1-inch digicam cellphone on the scene is the Xiaomi 17 Extremely, a big cellphone with an equally giant digicam bump as well. It’s the sequel to the Xiaomi 15 Extremely I reviewed in 2025 (Xiaomi skipped the 16 quantity to align itself with the present iPhone vary), and I’ve been testing it for a few weeks to see simply how good its cameras actually are.
I used to be very impressed with the 15 Extremely (and the 14 Extremely earlier than that), and on paper, the brand new 17 Extremely seems fairly comparable. In reality, the 17 Extremely has really misplaced a lens with its triple digicam setup, the place its two predecessors have 4. That’s as a result of the 17 Extremely now has a 200MP periscope zoom lens with an optical zoom inside it. Xiaomi believes that it offers you taking pictures flexibility akin to stuffing a conventional zoom lens in your pocket.
I’ve been out and about within the solar, wind, rain and darkish to carry you my impressions of this cellphone’s top-tier digicam. It comes at a top-tier worth too: £1,299, even when that does get you (spoiler) the most effective cameras on a cellphone, with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.
The easiest way for me to showcase the cellphone is by exhibiting you the kinds of pictures it could take. Beneath are my favorite pictures that I’ve captured, that are all JPEGs straight out of the digicam with no edits. They’re shot both with Xiaomi’s Leica Genuine or Leica Vibrant presets, which you’ll choose within the digicam app when taking pictures.
Click on by means of the gallery beneath for the pictures.
You can too view the pictures in full decision by way of the hyperlinks beneath. The numbers correspond to the numbers (1 to 14) within the embedded slideshow:
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14
The cameras right here show a shocking vary for such small {hardware} parts. I quite like Xiaomi’s Leica Genuine filter, seen right here on most pictures. Even when it’s a tad affected, I used to be blown away by among the outside photographs and the moodiness of the climate that the pictures precisely convey.
Xiaomi’s partnership with legendary digicam model Leica appears to be principally within the color tuning of the pictures, however I’m a fan. The cellphone offers you granular management over photographs if you would like it, with an easy-to-navigate Professional taking pictures mode that permits you to alter all settings like a handbook digicam, even taking pictures in RAW.
The principle digicam is a 1-inch 50MP sensor with optical picture stablisation (OIS) and an apertutre of f/1.67 and has the equal of a 23mm focal size. Smartphone makers have lately taken to including the equal focal size of their apps quite than solely, say 1x or 2x, and when you’re used to it, it offers a very good indication of the capabilities in comparison with lenses on conventional cameras.
The only 200MP telephoto lens can zoom between 75-100mm and has an aperture vary of f/2.39-2.96, with OIS too for serving to fight your shaky fingers. This lens can also be the one used for macro mode.
The ultra-wide digicam is, as on most smartphones, the weakest right here, however at 50MP and a stable f/2.2, it will get the job carried out. Xiaomi has carried out properly to ensure the colors are constant throughout lenses, one thing cheaper telephones wrestle with when their second and third lenses are clearly decrease high quality than the primary.
Except for the cameras, for £1,299 you get a cellphone with a shocking viewfinder, the 6.9-inch OLED display screen with 120Hz refresh charge. That makes this a pocket-busting cellphone, however a measurement I might be prepared to endure to get the digicam chops.
You additionally get the most recent top-of-the-range Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and an enormous 6,000mAh battery that lasted me shut to 2 days even when taking pictures constantly. Annoyingly within the UK there isn’t a 90W charger within the field that you have to quick cost this factor, which hurts contemplating the cash you will must spend.
There’s 50W wi-fi charging, a fantastic, quick ultrasonic fingerprint sensot, stereo audio system, 4 mics for nice audio choose up for calls and video recording, plus Hello-Res audio playback wirelessly to suitable headphones, full IP68 mud and water resitasnce, Wi-Fi 7 compatibility and the most recent Android 16.
Xiaomi’s HyperOS Android pores and skin isn’t my favorite, cluttered as it’s, however together with this cellphone’s measurement, it is effective to get used to when the cameras are this good.
I’ve but to check the Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely and its cameras, however I don’t like how Samsung has leant into AI photograph creation in its options and advertising and marketing. With the Xiaomi 17 Extremely you get a cellphone that breaks the financial institution, however one with a Leica partnership that appears much more desirous about images prowess than AI slop and photograph doctoring.
If you wish to get inventive along with your subsequent smartphone digicam and you don’t have any price range restrictions, the Xiaomi 17 Extremely ought to be prime of your procuring record.
