Xiaomi 17T phones add Leica 5x telephoto and AI zoom to cameras

Xiaomi’s 17T launch made the camera argument look less like a spec race and more like a branding test. The company unveiled the Xiaomi 17T and 17T Pro on May 28, 2026, and the headline feature was not just a bigger sensor or another portrait mode, but a Leica-branded 5x telephoto system paired with AI-assisted still selection.

Both phones carry a triple rear camera setup and, for the first time in the T-series, a 50-megapixel Leica 115mm periscope telephoto camera with an f/3.0 aperture, optical image stabilization, macro capability, and 10x optical-grade zoom. Xiaomi says AI Ultra Zoom stretches capture all the way to 120x. For photographers who actually use a phone past arm’s length, that telephoto move matters more than the usual marketing noise: 115mm is a familiar portrait and compression focal length, and the periscope module gives the series a real long-lens identity instead of a token zoom.

The two models split on their main cameras. The base 17T uses a 50-megapixel Light Fusion 800 sensor at 1/1.55-inch, while the 17T Pro steps up to a 50-megapixel Light Fusion 950 sensor at 1/1.31-inch. Xiaomi is leaning hard on Leica’s influence here too, with Leica UltraPure optical design, hybrid Summilux lens structures, portrait styling, and Leica-flavored photo borders shaping the look as much as the hardware itself.

The most telling feature is Leica Live Moment. Xiaomi says it records a short video clip and uses AI to pick the best frame as a high-quality still, preserving the moments before and after the shutter press. On the 17T Pro, Live Moment can keep Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant color profiles active, which turns burst selection into a branded workflow feature instead of a hidden computational trick. That is where the line between useful and theatrical gets interesting: if the AI consistently finds the right frame, it earns its place; if not, it is just another badge on the spec sheet.

Xiaomi backed the imaging pitch with strong hardware around it. The 17T has a 6.59-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, a 6,500mAh battery, and a Dimensity 8500-Ultra chipset. The 17T Pro gets a 6.83-inch 144Hz display, a 7,000mAh battery, a Dimensity 9500, 100W wired charging, and 50W wireless charging, plus 4Kp120 and 8Kp30 video. That makes the Pro the fuller creator tool, while the base model still inherits the same 5x telephoto idea.

Seen against Xiaomi’s recent T-series cadence, the shift is clear. The 14T series landed in Europe on September 26, 2024, the 15T series followed in Munich on September 24, 2025, and the 17T family pushes the zoom story further by giving even the base model a true 5x periscope camera. Xiaomi and Leica have spent several generations turning T-series phones into a Leica-branded camera identity, and the 17T makes that strategy more explicit than ever.