One less display: the Xiaomi 17 Max skips the gimmick I never asked for

You know plenty of Pro phones, you know the Pro Max phones very well, too – but how about a Max phone?!

In the world of Pro Max monikers, the iPhone isn't the only one – this one has been recently "adopted" (the quotation marks are here for a reason) by Xiaomi for their Xiaomi 17 family that consists of:

• Xiaomi 17 Ultra
• Xiaomi 17
• Xiaomi 17 Pro Max
• Xiaomi 17 Pro

If you're a hardcore Xiaomi fan – or you're just an avid PhoneArena reader, you know that there is another, as Master Yoda would say.

That's the Xiaomi 17 Max – a large flagship that'll soon be unveiled.

How soon?

Based on recent reports that state the alleged Xiaomi 17 Max is popping up on a regulatory filing in China. It's got a model number of 2605EPN8EC and it has now passed China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology certification.

This means that there are no specifications attached this time, but the official premiere will follow soon. If not towards the end of April, this could happen in May at the latest.

What's it like?

Thanks to numerous leaks from recent weeks, we know that the Xiaomi 17 Max will very likely be a large flagship (hence the Max moniker) that tones down some Ultra and Pro features that its siblings pack.

Per these early-bird tips, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is rumored to arrive with a 6.9-inch (flat) OLED display with a 1.5K resolution and thin bezels.

Under the hood, there should be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset for maximum performance; the RAM could go up to 16 GB (LPDDR5x type) and up to 1 TB of storage (UFS 4.1).

Next, there could be a ~8,000 mAh capacity battery cell (sounds promising) and serious water resistance.

What about the camera?

We're looking at a 200 MP main camera sensor and a 50 MP telephoto lens. Those fancy ultra-wide shots could be handled by another 50 MP sensor.

What about that rear screen?

Both the Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max pack a novel rear display on their camera island. The Max model might skip that, per the latest rumors.

So, we're looking at a clean, large no-nonsense flagship that is all about battery, display, camera and performance. Does that mean it's suitable for long gaming sessions? Probably, but it depends on how well it handles heat.

While the rear display of the Pro and Pro Max models is seen by many as a revolutionary feature, I'm not a huge fan. I already have enough screens around me. One more is one too many.