The massive camera hump on the iPhone 17 Pro has proved to be a divisive design choice, but if you look at the Android ecosystem, a few brands have already attempted that look years ago. Xiaomi is among those names, and it seems the Chinese electronics giant is going back to its roots with a brilliant twist.
What on Earth is this?
The brand has shared official product renders and a teaser video of its upcoming flagship, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. The silhouette of the phone looks starkly similar to the iPhone 17 Pro, which won’t be surprising as Xiaomi has often courted flak for aping Apple.
But the real magic happens when the whole camera hump lights up, and you realize that the entire plateau is actually a display. It hosts two floating-style camera lenses, similar to the approach you see on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Motorola’s latest foldable phones.
Apparently, Xiaomi is pushing this secondary as more of an aesthetic novelty this time around. There are smartwatch-inspired watch faces in a variety of designs, and I won’t be surprised if this secondary display also acts as a camera viewfinder.
Wait, this isn’t the first such stunt for Xiaomi?
Back in 2022, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra landed with a massive camera hump, just like the iPhone 17 Pro, hosting three camera lenses, including a periscope-style 120x zoom sensor. The standout element, however, was a tiny 1.1-inch OLED display at the back.
Here’s the fun part. Despite that tiny screen size, the community figured out a technique to mirror the front screen’s full Android UI on the tiny rear display. It was a pretty cool concept, but the company never went back to the secondary rear display concept again.
In 2025, the Xiaomi 17 Pro revives the idea, and with a lot more pizzazz. The phone’s going to be an all-out flagship, with top-tier camera hardware, a large battery, and Qualcomm’s flagship chip. It will be launched later this month, but don’t hold your breath for its arrival in the US market.
