Xiaomi 17T Pro GBAtemp review
Hardware
Product Information:
- Official Store: https://www.mi.com/global/product/xiaomi-17t-pro/
Xiaomi’s T-series phones are essentially more affordable versions of the the company’s most expensive flagship models. With that in mind, I certainly wouldn’t call them budget phones, but they’re not trying to be the absolute top-end Ultra devices either. However, with my time with the 17T Pro I found surprisingly fewer compromises than the price might suggest.
Starting at €899, it’s still a relatively expensive phone, but it brings a large 144Hz AMOLED display, a 7000mAh battery, 100W wired charging, and up to 1TB of storage. That makes it a very capable phone which is still priced much better than much of the competition.
My review unit came in Xiaomi’s Deep Blue color with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. In my time with the phone, which I compare heavily with my current daily driver, the OnePlus 12, I was able to get a good feel on this model’s general use, camera performance, battery life, software, and gaming capabilities.
Specifications
The Xiaomi 17T Pro comes with the phone itself, a USB-C cable, SIM eject tool, protective case, safety information, quick-start guide, warranty card, and the usual paperwork. As expected, but also disappointingly, there is no charger in the box. The phone supports extremely fast charging, which I was able to verify with my OnePlus 12’s charger, but the lack of a fast charger in the box is still something that I’m flabbergasted by. However, the fact that it comes with a case is something that I was pleasantly surprised by.
- Display: 6.83-inch AMOLED
- Resolution: 2772 x 1280
- Refresh rate: Up to 144Hz
- Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 9500
- GPU: Mali G1-Ultra
- RAM: 12GB LPDDR5X
- Storage: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB UFS 4.1
- Rear cameras: 50MP main, 50MP 5x periscope telephoto, 12MP ultrawide
- Front camera: 32MP
- Battery: 7000mAh silicon-carbon
- Charging: 100W wired, 50W wireless
- OS: Xiaomi HyperOS 3, based on Android 16
- Water resistance: IP68
- Weight: 219g
- Starting price: €899
Design and Display
The Xiaomi 17T Pro is a large phone. With a 6.83-inch screen and 219g weight, this is not something you buy because you want a compact device that disappears in your pocket.
That said, I love bulky phones, especially when paired with beefy phone cases. Because of that, I never found this phone unpleasant to use. It was actually quite a bit less bulky than my OnePlus 12 with its Poetic case. The 17T Pro looks clean without being flashy, and the included case helps with grip. It really feels like a premium device, even if it doesn’t have quite the same ultra-premium presentation as some phones that cost significantly more.
The side buttons feel good, the phone feels responsive, and the large display makes it a natural fit for videos and gaming.
The 6.83-inch AMOLED display is one of the easiest parts of the phone to like. It is large, bright, smooth, and generally very pleasant to use. The 144Hz refresh rate gives the phone the kind of fluidity expected from a high-end device, and the resolution keeps everything sharp.
For video, browsing, and gaming, the screen is excellent. I initially tried to change things up by using the phone in the more iPhone-like setup in the options before losing my mind and switching over to the more traditional Android-style layout. Luckily, HyperOS allows for both approaches. That flexibility is appreciated, making it appealing to both Android and iPhone users.
The size also helps with emulation. Touch controls are still not ideal for most serious games, but on a display this large, they are at least more usable than they would be on a smaller phone. I was very happy to find that my Backbone One controller, which famously does NOT work with phone cases, actually did work with the 17T even with the case on. That’s something I would never be able to do with my main phone. So once I set up my Backbone and Retroarch, I was ready to go.
Performance
The Xiaomi 17T Pro is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9500, and in day-to-day use, it feels as fast as the specs suggest. Apps open quickly, scrolling is smooth, multitasking is effortless, and I never felt like I was waiting on the phone.
I ran Geekbench and got a single-core score of 2868 and a multi-core score of 8916. Benchmarks are not everything, but those numbers put the phone comfortably in modern flagship territory.
The most important test, in my humble opinion, was how that performance translated into actual gaming and emulation.
For normal Google Play gaming, the Xiaomi 17T Pro is more than capable. The large 144Hz display, strong processor, and 12GB of RAM make it feel comfortably overpowered for the usual mobile games and apps. Throw any Android game at it and it’ll handle it just fine.
Coming off my dissatisfaction with the Anbernic Vita not being able to play, well, Vita games, I had to immediately Vita emulation on this thing. I started with the One Piece Pirate Warriors 3, a game which was nearly impossible to play on my dedicated handheld device. And to my great surprise, it ran wonderfully on the 17T Pro! This is the kind of game with large battlefields, many enemies on screen, constant effects, and plenty of opportunities for slowdown. On the 17T Pro, it was genuinely playable and ran smoothly enough that I would consider it a practical way to play.
I also tested Mario Kart Wii, which ran smoothly. That is a useful test because any stutter or input delay is immediately noticeable in a racing game. If Mario Kart doesn’t feel right, you know quickly. On the 17T Pro, it felt great. There was a little stutter in the race previews, but once you got into the race, it was smooth sailing.
I also tested Digimon Rumble Arena for the PS2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the GameCube, and both ran smoothly. Obviously, Android emulation still depends heavily on the emulator and settings being used. But the 17T Pro gives you enough hardware overhead that everything I threw at it felt smooth.
The larger display helps here. Touch controls are never my preferred way to play more demanding games, which is why I opted to play with a dedicated controller, but if a controller isn’t an option, then the 6.83-inch screen gives you more room to work with than a smaller phone would.
The main drawback is battery drain. The 7000mAh battery is excellent for light use, but heavier emulation still eats through it quickly. Vita and Wii emulation are demanding tasks, and the phone’s battery percentage moved much faster during those sessions than it did while browsing, watching videos, or sitting idle. For lighter gaming and older systems, battery life is much less of a concern.
When it comes to handheld gaming, the 17T Pro isn’t replacing my Steam Deck, PlayStation Portal, Switch 2, or even my Anbernic Vita for most retro games any time soon… But quite frankly it doesn’t need to. As an Android phone that can also handle serious emulation, it is very strong.
Camera
The Xiaomi 17T Pro has a Leica-branded triple camera setup consisting of a 50MP main camera, a 50MP 5x periscope telephoto, and a 12MP ultrawide.
Unlike some of my GBAtemp reviewer peers, I don’t live in an area with lots of interesting spots to take pictures… However, I took advantage of that situation and, rather than taking a trip to take pretty daylight shots, I brought the phone to a demolition derby following a long day of paintball. That turned out to be a useful test, with moving cars, dust, mud, stadium lighting, distance, crowds, and low-light conditions. It was not the cleanest possible situation for a phone camera, but it was a realistic one.
The main camera did well, but the 5x telephoto was the lens I used the most. Being able to zoom in from the stands and still get usable photos made the camera system feel much more flexible. Some shots still showed motion blur, especially with fast-moving cars under stadium lights, but that was expected. Overall, the camera produced photos that were more than usable for sharing and better than I expected given the conditions.
The Xiaomi 17T Pro is a strong phone. It has a large and excellent display, very good performance, a versatile camera system, and a battery that holds up well under normal use. It is also one of the better phones I have used for emulation.
Verdict
- Excellent performance from the Dimensity 9500
- Large, smooth 144Hz AMOLED display
- 7000mAh battery is great for light and normal use
- Useful 5x telephoto camera
- Case included in the box
- No charger included
- High-end emulation still drains battery quickly
- Large size will not be for everyone
