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Buying a flagship smartphone in 2026 often means emptying your wallet, with top-tier prices regularly scaling past RM5,000.
However, Xiaomi wants to disrupt this trend with the new Xiaomi 17T Pro, offering premium specs for only RM2,899.
The device comes in three colours: Black, Deep Violet and Deep Blue. I had the chance to test the latter for around a week to see if the value is genuine.
At first glance, the phone features a sleek matte glass-fibre back and a vibrant 6.83-inch display.
Late-night scrollers will appreciate the TÜV Quadruple Eye Care Certification, which allows the screen to dim down to one nit. This safely prevents harsh glare when checking notifications in a pitch-dark room.
Equipped with a massive 7,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, the Xiaomi 17T Pro easily eliminates low-battery anxiety during frantic weekend outings
The included 100W fast charger juices the power cell from zero to over 50% in 30 minutes.
It also supports 50W wireless charging for a clean, wire-free desk.
The camera system, co-engineered with Leica, highlights a dual 50MP main and 5x telephoto setup
That 5x optical zoom compresses backgrounds beautifully, generating crisp, professional portraits without forcing you to awkwardly shuffle closer to your subject.
For video creators, the telephoto lens shoots smooth footage in 4K at 60fps.
That said, I managed to take some pretty dramatic shots of objects around me, which I liked very much. Here are a few images I took with the Xiaomi 17T Pro that I am proud of (I'm not a pro photographer, by the way).
Under the hood, a MediaTek Dimensity 9500 processor and 12GB of RAM handle intensive mobile gaming effortlessly
Visuals remain remarkably smooth at 60fps, whilst the internal IceLoop cooling system handles the heat.
The software does pack some bloatware, but those pre-installed applications take only two minutes to delete.
At RM2,899 for the 256GB model (and up to RM3,499 for the massive 1TB version), the Xiaomi 17T Pro is slightly pricey for what it offers
The loudspeakers, unfortunately, are underwhelming. I wished it came with built-in subwoofer to match its price point.
That said, the device gives you the battery, performance, and camera capabilities of phones that cost almost double its price. So, if you're looking to upgrade your device for a top-tier smartphone experience without the premium price tag, the Xiaomi 17T Pro is easily one of the best investments you can make this year.
However, if you're patient, I would recommend shopping around and purchasing it later when the price drops in the coming months.
