On September 15, less than a week after Apple's iPhone 17 series was released, Xiaomi launched a high-profile counterattack in a very unusual way.Lu Weibing, president of Lei Xiaomi Group, announced on Weibo that Xiaomi announced that it would skip the "16" series and directly release a new "Xiaomi 17 Series", which will be more positive than the Apple 17 series.

Subsequently, Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi Group, also released news: The Xiaomi 17 series will be upgraded across generations, fully benchmarking the iPhone, and face it head-on!

Can Xiaomi 17 play?Can Xiaomi 17 fully benchmark the iPhone?Hawk Insight combines multiple sources to bring you an article.

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The Xiaomi 17 series released in this round covers three models: Xiaomi 17, Xiaomi 17 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max.The three are positioned as standard flagship, high-end flagship and all-round top matching respectively, directly corresponding to the basic style, Pro and Pro Max of the iPhone 17 series.Among them, the world premiere of the Xiaomi 17 series is equipped with Qualcomm's fifth-generation Snapdragon 8 Extreme Edition (some overseas sources call it Gen3 for Galaxy or Elite Gen5). The chip adopts TSMC's 4nm process, and the CPU architecture is upgraded to a 1+5+2 combination., the maximum frequency can reach 3.4GHz, and the AI reasoning ability is more than 40% higher than that of the previous generation.The performance of this generation of Snapdragon platform in terms of AI model processing and multitasking parallel capabilities is very close to that of Apple's A19 series. Especially in aspects such as generative AI, image enhancement, and voice processing, the Android camp has begun to have the confidence to challenge Apple.

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At the screen level, Xiaomi is no longer conservative.The Pro and Pro Max versions are equipped with 2K 120Hz LTPO OLED screens, support Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and are jointly adjusted by Leica. The goal is to achieve professional-level color performance.Compared with the Super Retina XDR screen equipped with Apple's iPhone 17 Pro series, Xiaomi is slightly better in terms of visual immersion experience such as brightness, screen occupancy, and border control. In particular, the front camera hole is smaller and it is more restrained and high-end in visual perception.In addition, there are rumors that the screen brightness of the Pro Max version can reach 3000 nits, which is intended to benchmark Apple's outdoor display advantages and improve readability under direct sunlight.

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The imaging system is undoubtedly one of Xiaomi's core breakthroughs.Leica imaging systems have become standard on Xiaomi's high-end models. This time, the Xiaomi 17 Pro and Pro Max continue to strengthen this selling point. The main camera is a 50-megapixel ultra-large bottom sensor that supports physical iris variable (f/1.4-f/4.0), combined with ultra-wide-angle and periscope telephoto lenses, as well as a new generation AI night scene algorithm and optical level anti-shake system, it fully matches the performance of night shooting, video recording, portraits and other scenes. iPhone 17 Pro Max's 48-megapixel main camera and ProRes video recording capabilities.Unlike Apple, which continues to focus on professional content creators, Xiaomi has launched a key layout in the field of Short Video, adding functions such as movie frame templates, smart pan/tilt anti-shake, and wind-noise resistant microphones to directly serve the needs of current social media creators.

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Batteries and charging are still Xiaomi's outstanding advantages.According to the currently disclosed information, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is equipped with a battery of more than 5000mAh and supports 120W wired fast charging and 50W wireless fast charging. It recovers more than 80% of the power in 20 minutes, greatly improving the efficiency of heavy users.Although Apple has introduced a USB-C interface to respond to EU regulations, its charging efficiency still remains at around 27W.For a long time, Apple has relied on energy efficiency tuning of the iOS system to maintain a good battery life experience, but in high-intensity application scenarios such as games and video recording, its charging efficiency and thermal control management have gradually emerged as bottlenecks.

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At the system level, Xiaomi released a new self-developed operating system,"Paper OS", realizing multi-terminal collaboration on mobile phones, tablets, TVs, and cars for the first time, focusing on deep integration of software and hardware and intelligent AI scheduling.The system has a built-in "AI brain" model that can realize functions such as application scenario prediction, intelligent reminders, and voice writing, and adopts advanced memory scheduling technology to improve the fluency of old models.Although there is still a gap in closed-loop integration with the overall iOS ecosystem, in the Android camp, The Paper OS is already one of the systems with the most platform potential. Especially as the AI model continues to be embedded, its system-level capabilities may become a breakthrough.

In order to catch up with Apple, Xiaomi has been sharpening knives for 5 years

According to Xiaomi's disclosure, R & D investment in the past five years has exceeded 100 billion yuan, and another 200 billion yuan will be invested in the next five years.This means that Xiaomi has completed its strategic transformation from a traditional "hardware company" to a "technology platform company".Lei Jun said on social platforms that Xiaomi is no longer a traditional mobile phone brand, but a representative enterprise in the era of smart technology. Currently, Xiaomi's product power has been upgraded across generations, and it even "does not lose to Apple" in many indicators.

According to Counterpoint data, as of September 2025, Xiaomi's market share in China has reached 16%, which is the same as OPPO and second only to Huawei and vivo.In the price range above 3000 yuan, Xiaomi's sales growth rate ranks at the forefront of the Android camp.In contrast, Apple's performance in the China market has fluctuated. On the one hand, it has been limited by the strong return of Huawei's Mate 70 series, and on the other hand, it has also been comprehensively attacked by Xiaomi.Although Apple is still the ruler of the global high-end market, its dominant position in China, the world's largest consumer electronics market, is facing real pressure.

Many overseas financial and technology media have also paid attention to Xiaomi's "positive benchmarking" this time.Analysts pointed out that Xiaomi has shifted from a cost-effective approach based on parameter stacking to an "experience first" route centered on system experience, AI intelligence and ecological collaboration; media commented that "China brands are emerging from the low-price trap and moving towards a technology-led path of high added value, integration of software and hardware," and Xiaomi is one of the representative samples.

However, it cannot be ignored that Xiaomi still faces multiple challenges on its road to high-end development.The first is the brand recognition barrier. Although the configuration has been on par with Apple, in the high-end market, users 'expectations for "brand","service" and "ecology" are much higher than those in the mid-to-low-end market. Apple's global brand influence and highly sticky user system will still be difficult to shake in the short term; secondly, the market's involution trend is intensifying. Huawei's comprehensive return will directly compete with Xiaomi for high-end Android market share, and its technology accumulation and brand sentiments cannot be ignored; Finally, Xiaomi's own overseas market expansion is still affected by multiple factors such as geopolitics and brand recognition, and its high-end global path still takes time to polish.