High-End Mobile Devices by Screen and Optical Quality

Summary: I compare the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Galaxy S26 Ultra and Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max on the photo and display side: 1-inch sensor, 75-100 mm true mechanical zoom, Leica APO optics, the iPhone's superiority in video, the ultra-wide camera where Xiaomi falls short, and the camera character of the four phones.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra: Could It Be the Best Camera Phone of 2026?

Xiaomi 17 Ultra holds an unusual position among 2026 flagships, especially on the photography side. Because the device does not rely only on high megapixel values; with its large sensor, true mechanical optical zoom, Leica APO optics, RAW support and strong video features, it comes closer to the logic of a small camera.

In this article, I compare the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max; and examine with technical evidence why Xiaomi appears stronger than its rivals, especially on the photo side.

What makes the Xiaomi 17 Ultra different?

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra's camera system is quite strong even on paper:

50 MP main camera
1-inch type main sensor
23 mm equivalent Leica Summilux lens
f/1.67 aperture
OIS
200 MP telephoto camera
1/1.4-inch telephoto sensor
75–100 mm true mechanical optical zoom
Leica APO optics
50 MP ultra-wide camera
RAW, HEIF, 8K30, 4K120 Dolby Vision and 4K120 Log recording support

Source: Xiaomi 17 Ultra official technical specifications.

Why does the 1-inch sensor matter?

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra's main camera has a 1-inch type image sensor. In the smartphone world, this size is still considered quite large.

A larger sensor can collect more light under similar technological conditions. In practice, this means a higher signal-to-noise ratio, a cleaner image in low light, more detail in shadows and less need for aggressive noise reduction.

The Light Fusion 1050L sensor Xiaomi uses also has LOFIC technology. LOFIC aims to provide a wider dynamic range at the sensor level by holding the excess charge in bright areas in additional capacitors.

This is different from the classic phone HDR approach. On most phones, HDR relies mainly on software merging frames at different exposures, while Xiaomi also increases the physical capacity of the sensor here.

Technical review: Notebookcheck – Xiaomi 17 Ultra Camera Review.

The real difference: 75–100 mm true mechanical zoom

The most important camera feature of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is its telephoto system.

The device has a 200 MP Samsung HPE sensor, 1/1.4-inch sensor area and an optical zoom mechanism that physically moves between 75–100 mm.

The critical point here is this: These focal lengths are not produced only by sensor crop. The lens elements physically move.

For this reason, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra's telephoto system comes closer to the working principle of a traditional zoom lens than to the classic smartphone logic.

Why is 75–100 mm valuable?

The 75 mm, 85 mm, 90 mm and 100 mm range are focal lengths that are very useful especially for portraits in classic photography.

This focal range:

Makes facial perspective look more natural
Increases background compression
Reduces the distortion in wide-angle phone portraits
Gives a more classic portrait lens look

Xiaomi's advantage is that in this range it can use physical zoom instead of only digital crop.

Why does Leica APO optics matter?

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra's telephoto camera uses Leica APO optics.

APO refers to apochromatic optical design. The aim is to focus light at different wavelengths on the same focal plane as much as possible and to reduce the purple and green fringing that can occur especially in high-contrast areas.

For this reason, the Xiaomi-Leica collaboration extends not only to the color profile level but directly to the optical design.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra vs iPhone 17 Pro Max

The approach of these two phones is distinctly different.

On the iPhone 17 Pro Max side, the strength is in computational photography, consistency in camera transitions, video and professional production features. On the Xiaomi 17 Ultra side, the strength is in the larger sensor, more advanced optical design, telephoto hardware and photo character.

In terms of maximum single-frame photo quality, Xiaomi appears stronger. Especially in low light, telephoto, portrait and RAW processing, the hardware advantage is clear.

However, on the video side, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is still ahead.

When it comes to video, the iPhone is still king

The iPhone 17 Pro Max offers these features:

4K120 Dolby Vision
ProRes
ProRes RAW
Apple Log 2
ACES
Genlock
Recording to external storage

These features still give the iPhone a special position in serious video productions.

Source: Apple – iPhone 17 Pro technical specifications.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra, meanwhile, offers the following capabilities on the video side:

4K120 Dolby Vision
4K120 Log
ACES
8K30

So on the Android side it is quite strong for professional video, but it has not yet reached the iPhone's ProRes RAW and Genlock advantage.

Xiaomi 17 Ultra vs Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max

On the photo side, one of Xiaomi's most serious rivals is the Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max.

Huawei offers a very strong system, especially with its large telephoto sensor and physical variable aperture.

However, independent reviews note that Huawei's image processing algorithms sometimes apply too much HDR, too much sharpening and overly aggressive processing.

Source: Digital Camera World – Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max Review.

Xiaomi, on the other hand, thanks to its Leica Authentic profile, can deliver a more natural image character with more controlled contrast and a more photographic look.

Why does Leica Authentic matter?

One of the biggest problems with modern phone cameras is no longer that they take bad photos; it is that they over-process the image.

Phones often:

Lift shadows excessively
Correct the sky with too much HDR
Increase sharpness too much
Try to clean up noise completely

As a result of this processing, even though the image looks technically clean, it can drift away from a natural photographic character.

Xiaomi's Leica Authentic mode offers a more controlled alternative in this regard. The goal is not to show every scene at maximum brightness and maximum HDR, but to preserve more natural contrast and tonal transitions.

Why does the Galaxy S26 Ultra fall behind?

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is an extremely powerful and versatile camera phone. It is especially successful in quick access to different focal lengths and in computational photography.

However, it cannot directly answer two critical hardware advantages of Xiaomi:

1-inch LOFIC main sensor
75–100 mm physical mechanical zoom

Samsung provides versatility more through fixed lenses and software processing.

For this reason, when it comes to "easy and high-quality photos in every condition," Samsung is very strong; but when it comes to "the most photographic image possible and the most advanced camera hardware," Xiaomi stands out.

Xiaomi's weak point: the ultra-wide camera

While praising the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, it is also necessary to point out its weak side.

The ultra-wide camera is not the strongest part of the system.

Despite its 50 MP resolution, the sensor used is not as large as the main and telephoto ones. In independent tests, highlight clipping, loss of shadows and a drop in detail have been observed in the ultra-wide camera, especially in difficult light.

Source: Notebookcheck – Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photo Tour.

What do real-world usage tests say?

In Notebookcheck's comprehensive review, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is regarded as one of the strongest camera systems of 2026.

In particular:

the low-light performance of the 1-inch sensor
high dynamic range
200 MP telephoto
mechanical zoom system
Leica optical character

are highlighted.

Sources:

Camera character of the four flagships

Area Xiaomi 17 Ultra iPhone 17 Pro Max Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max Galaxy S26 Ultra

Main camera 1. 3. 2. 4.

Telephoto 1. 4. 2. 3.

Night 1. 3. 2. 4.

Portrait 1. 3. 2. 4.

Ultra-wide 3. 1. 4. 2.

RAW / photographer control 1. 2. 4. 3.

Video 2. 1. 4. 3.

Professional video 2. 1. 4. 3.

My reading

What makes the Xiaomi 17 Ultra superior to its rivals is not just the megapixel count.

The real difference lies in this combination:

1-inch main sensor-LOFIC sensor architecture-75–100 mm true mechanical optical zoom-200 MP large telephoto sensor-Leica APO optics-Leica Authentic image character-RAW, 4K120 Log, Dolby Vision and ACES support

The iPhone 17 Pro Max may be a stronger professional video tool. The Galaxy S26 Ultra may be more practical and versatile. The Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max may challenge Xiaomi in some zoom scenarios.

However, from a pure photography perspective, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is one of the phones among these four devices that comes closest to the working logic of a classic camera.

At the heart of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra's superiority is physics rather than software: a larger sensor, an advanced sensor architecture, true moving optics and a large telephoto sensor. For this reason, calling the Xiaomi 17 Ultra merely "a good camera phone" falls short. As of 2026, it is one of the most ambitious smartphones focused on photography.