With the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max being China-only for now, here\u2019s how the two new flagships compare on paper.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pricing and availability<\/p>\n
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is readily available to buy now following its release on 19 September, starting at \u00a31,199\/$1,199 for the 256GB model.<\/p>\n
SQUIRREL_PLAYLIST_10207953<\/p>\n
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The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, on the other hand, is China-only for now. It costs CNY 5,999 locally, around $840 converted, but it\u2019ll likely cost a lot more once it gets its global release \u2013 likely in early 2026, going by Xiaomi\u2019s previous flagship release schedule.<\/p>\n
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max has a rear screen<\/p>\n
The two phones might look very similar, but Xiaomi has upped the Apple competition by including a secondary screen on its rear camera bump.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Xiaomi\u2019s \u2018Dynamic Back Display\u2019 is a 2.9-inch 120Hz OLED screen that sits beside the rear lenses, and can primarily be used as a viewfinder for taking selfies with the (better quality) rear lenses \u2013 but there\u2019s more to it than that. Per the company, it\u2019ll also feature a range of widgets, music controls, notifications, calls and more.<\/p>\n
![\"Xiaomi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Xiaomi-17-Pro-820x461.jpg\")
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)<\/p>\n
There\u2019s even an official Gameboy-inspired controller case that\u2019ll let you play retro titles on the rear screen, if that\u2019s your kind of thing. It\u2019s not included in the box, however, and whether it\u2019ll be released more widely is yet to be confirmed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an important differentiating factor between the two, as the main screens on the front are relatively similar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The iPhone 17 Pro Max features a 6.9-inch OLED screen with an LTPO-enabled 120Hz refresh rate and 3000 nit peak brightness, while Xiaomi\u2019s alternative boasts a 6.9-inch AMOLED panel with the same LTPO-powered 120Hz refresh rate, albeit with slightly higher peak brightness at 3500 nits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Slight differences in camera tech<\/p>\n
Whether you opt for Xiaomi or Apple\u2019s Pro Max model, you\u2019ll be treated with a trio of high-res, high-end lenses. In many regards, the two are on par with one another \u2013 both offer main, ultrawide and periscope lenses \u2013 but look a little closer and there are a few key differences.<\/p>\n
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max features a Leica-tuned triple 50MP array with a 1\/1.28-inch OIS-enabled primary sensor, along with a 102-degree 1\/2.76-inch ultrawide and a 1\/2.0-inch 5x periscope lens.<\/p>\n
![\"iPhone](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iPhone-17-Pro-1-820x461.jpg\")
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)<\/p>\n
The iPhone 17 Pro Max features a triple 48MP camera system, with a similarly equipped 1\/1.28-inch primary sensor, although it utilises Apple\u2019s own sensor-shift OIS system for improved stabilisation. There\u2019s also a wider 120-degree 1\/2.55-inch ultrawide, and a 1\/2.55-inch 4x periscope lens \u2013 although it can capture up to 8x at optical quality, according to Apple.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Based on our experience with other Xiaomi and Apple flagships, Xiaomi will likely win out on sheer optical reach with its periscope lens, and the Leica filters help add an artistic quality to shots. Apple, however, tends to offer better out-of-camera video capture, along with much better colour consistency across its rear lenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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That said, we\u2019ll see how the two truly compare once we go hands-on, so stay tuned.<\/p>\n
Apple A19 Pro or Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5<\/p>\n
Both flagship phones feature the latest and greatest in chipset technology: the Apple A19 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The A19 Pro within Apple\u2019s iPhone 17 Pro Max features a redesigned vapour chamber for improved sustained performance \u2013 Apple claims a boost of up to 40% compared to the previous-generation iPhone \u2013 along with iOS-level optimisations to deliver a notable improvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Snapdragon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/snapdragon-8-elite-gen-5-confirmed-phones-820x461.jpg\")
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The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is similarly at the top of its game; last year\u2019s 8 Elite closed the gap massively between it and Apple\u2019s equivalent iPhone chipset for the first time. With gains in the region of 20-25% across the board in the Gen 5, it\u2019ll certainly be interesting to see how it performs in benchmarks.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s anything like last year, Apple will likely lead in single-core performance, where Qualcomm\u2019s chipset will likely excel when it comes to multi-core and GPU grunt \u2013 but we\u2019ll report back once we\u2019ve benchmarked the chipsets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max has a bigger battery \u2013 in China<\/p>\n
Apple claims that the iPhone 17 Pro Max offers the longest battery life of any iPhone to date, with its 4832mAh cell offering up to 39 hours of video playback \u2013 and if you opt for an eSIM-only model, that jumps to 5088mAh and 41 hours.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a pretty solid offering, but Xiaomi\u2019s 17 Pro Max blows it \u2013 and practically every other phone around \u2013 out of the water with a whopping 7,500mAh alternative. That should last for significantly longer than Apple\u2019s alternative, but we can\u2019t say for sure right now.<\/p>\n
![\"Xiaomi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Xiaomi-17-Pro-1-820x461.jpg\")
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However, it\u2019s worth noting that, with EU restrictions on battery sizes within phones, it likely won\u2019t feature the same mammoth battery once it gets its wider release in 2026. The same happened with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra; the China-only model featured a 6000mAh cell, while the global alternative offered 5410mAh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max offers much faster 100W charging than Apple\u2019s 45W alternative, though you\u2019ll need a Xiaomi-branded charger to reach those speeds \u2013 and those don\u2019t ship in the box outside of China.<\/p>\n
iOS 26 or HyperOS 3<\/p>\n
The biggest difference between the two smartphones is their underlying operating systems; Apple\u2019s iPhone runs iOS 26, while Xiaomi\u2019s alternative runs HyperOS 3 based on Android 16.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Apple calls iOS 26 its most significant redesign in years, and it\u2019s largely down to its new Liquid Glass UI. As the name suggests, the operating system now features a glassy look with real-world refractions, giving it a high-end finish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"iPhone](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/iPhone-17-Pro-Max-1-820x461.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Xiaomi\u2019s HyperOS 3, based on Android 16, offers better customisation, along with improved multitasking capabilities and expanded support for its broader ecosystem of phones, tablets and smart home tech.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This alone will probably be the deciding factor between which to choose; if you\u2019re an iPhone user, you\u2019ll likely stick with iOS, while Android fans will likely go with the Android-based Xiaomi.<\/p>\n
Early thoughts<\/p>\n
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, though very much copying Apple\u2019s modus operandi, takes the formula and cranks it up a notch with elements like a rear screen and a frankly massive battery that could make it a tempting Android-based alternative to Apple\u2019s top-end iPhone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That said, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is still very much a top-end smartphone, matching the Xiaomi alternative in key areas like display tech, cameras and performance while offering a genuinely refreshed version of iOS for Apple fans to enjoy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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We\u2019ll update this comparison once the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max gets a wider release and we\u2019ve spent some time with both smartphones.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is quite obviously inspired by Apple\u2019s iPhone 17 Pro Max \u2013 so what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[85,46,321,125],"class_list":["post-48689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}