The REDMI Note 17 Pro Max 5G is a phone built around some very big numbers. It packs a massive 10,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, a 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED display, 100W HyperCharge, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 processor. It’s designed for people who spend long days away from a charger and expect their device to handle everything from work and entertainment to photography.
The 6.83-inch CrystalRes AMOLED display is one of the first things you notice. With a resolution of 2772 x 1280, up to a 120Hz refresh rate, 12-bit colour and support for the DCI-P3 colour gamut, it gives you a large, vibrant canvas for everything from social media and streaming to reviewing photographs. Xiaomi rates peak brightness at up to 3,500 nits, which helps when using the phone outdoors under strong sunlight.
Durability is another area where the specifications stand out. The REDMI Note 17 Pro Max 5G carries IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings and uses Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front.
At around 229.5g, there is some weight to it, but that extra size starts to make more sense once you consider what is packed inside. The biggest talking point is the 10,000mAh battery, which is unusually large for a mainstream smartphone. It can deliver up to three days of moderate use.
Charging is equally substantial. The phone supports 100W HyperCharge, where 20 minutes of charging can provide enough power for a full day. There is also up to 27W wired reverse charging, so the phone can even share some of its battery with another compatible device.
Performance comes from the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5, built on a 4nm process with an octa-core CPU running at up to 2.6GHz. This positions the phone more as a strong everyday all-rounder, with enough performance for multitasking, streaming, photography and mainstream gaming without feeling sluggish. Xiaomi HyperOS 3 also brings a growing range of AI tools. Google Gemini is integrated as well, giving the phone a broader set of generative AI tools without making AI the only reason to buy it.
The camera setup is where I had the most fun testing the phone. The REDMI Note 17 Pro Max 5G uses a 50MP main camera with optical image stabilisation and a wide f/1.5 aperture, paired with an 8MP ultra-wide camera. The front camera comes in at 32MP, while both the main and front cameras can record video at up to 4K at 30fps.
Rather than testing the camera in one setting, I brought the phone to two very different locations. The first was the Sanrio Moonlit Garden at VivoCity, where I concentrated on night photography. The second was the Lily Festival at Gardens by the Bay, where I had much brighter conditions and could experiment with close-up shots.
At Gardens By The Bay, daylight gave me more room to focus on colour, texture and fine detail. Flowers are surprisingly good subjects for testing a smartphone camera because there are subtle variations in colour, intricate petals and plenty of opportunities to move in close.
I spent more time experimenting with close-up compositions rather than simply taking wide shots of the entire floral display. Being able to get closer to individual lilies made it easier to see how well the camera handled texture and colour under brighter, more natural lighting.
The large AMOLED display helped here too. Reviewing photographs on a 6.83-inch screen makes it easier to zoom in immediately and check whether the detail I wanted actually came through. It also makes framing shots more enjoyable, particularly outdoors where the high-brightness panel remains easier to see.
The Sanrio Moonlit Garden was the more demanding of the two. Brightly illuminated characters and decorative installations sat against much darker surroundings, creating high-contrast scenes.
This is where the main camera’s optical image stabilisation and wider aperture become especially useful. Night photography is never just about megapixels; keeping shots steady and allowing enough light into the sensor makes a real difference when you are trying to capture illuminated subjects against a dark background.
Xiaomi also includes a useful range of AI-assisted editing tools after you have taken the shot. AI Glare Removal can help with reflections and bright light sources, AI Erase Pro can remove unwanted distractions, and I even added stars in the sky! Live Moment can also capture motion, which I love.
(vlog)
I put together a short vlog using footage shot on the REDMI Note 17 Pro Max 5G. Check out the vlog above!
After using the REDMI Note 17 Pro Max 5G in both low-light and daylight conditions, what stood out most was how naturally the rest of the phone supported the camera experience. The huge battery meant I was not constantly watching the percentage drop while taking photographs and video, while the large display made reviewing those images immediately much more enjoyable.
It retails from $669; find out more here.
