We just realized our coverage of the Redmi Note series has been rather sporadic. We failed to follow up with every generation, sometimes only featuring one model or edition from a series. But I swear we did not miss the Note 16 because there isn’t one. Instead, there’s the Redmi Note 17 series.
Why “Skip Generation”?
That’s right. Like the Xiaomi 17, which also skipped 16, the new Note series has “skip generation” to maintain consistency across Xiaomi’s numbering. The jump also highlights the significant upgrades and marks another major milestone: cumulative worldwide sales of the Redmi Note series have now surpassed 500 million units. Going with 17 also makes the phone sound less dated when compared to the industry’s numbering standard, namely the iPhone. There’s another fringe benefit to this sudden leap from a marketing perspective: it gets people talking.
Anyhoo, the numbering isn’t the only thing getting people talking. Redmi has also flipped the usual size hierarchy. Normally, the standard model and the Pro are either the same size, or the Pro is the physically larger device. The new Redmi Note 17 series does the opposite. The regular Note 17 is the bigger of the two, sporting a 7-inch display, while the Note 17 Pro comes with a more conventional 6.83-inch screen. Whether you pick the regular Note 17 or the Pro, both models receive substantial upgrades despite the series’ entry-level positioning. Though I would argue the Pro has the most significant upgrades.
Redmi Note 17
Let’s kick off with the Redmi Note 17 [CH]. It features a large 7-inch OLED eye-care display with up to a 120 Hz refresh rate, up to a 240 Hz touch sampling rate, a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and a modest 1,800 nits peak brightness. Resolution is 2,396 × 1,080. Powering the device is the 4 nm Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 Mobile Platform, featuring an octa-core processor clocked at up to 2.3 GHz, paired with an Adreno GPU, LPDDR4X memory, and UFS 2.2 storage.
Not going to lie. Those specs aren’t going to set any land-speed records, but they are, without doubt, respectable for an entry-level device. It is available with 6 GB or 8 GB RAM and 128 GB or 256 GB of storage, with expandable storage via a microSD card.
The device measures 169.70 mm tall, 79.14 mm wide, and 8.26 mm thick, weighing 225 g. So no, it isn’t exactly what you’d call handy for a phone this size. But you’ll probably forgive the thickness and weight when you realize it packs what is essentially a power bank-sized battery—a monstrous 8,000 mAh Jinshajiang battery. It is supported by Xiaomi’s self-developed Hyper G1 battery management chip, 45 W wired fast charging, and 22.5 W wired reverse charging.
In the imaging department, the Redmi Note 17 keeps things simple with a single 50 MP rear camera (f/1.8, 5P lens) and an 8 MP front-facing camera (f/2.0). Both cameras support 1080p/30 and 720p/30 video recording, while the rear camera also supports 720p/120 slow-motion recording.
Connectivity includes 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G networks, dual nano-SIM support, dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, and the usual positioning systems, including BeiDou, GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo. Sensor-wise, it packs a virtual proximity sensor, front ambient light sensor, accelerometer, e-compass, and IR blaster. Oh, right… in the durability department, the display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, while the phone carries an IP65 rating for water resistance.
Redmi Note 17 Pro
The Redmi Note 17 Pro [CH] is the go-to device for butterfingers. It is marketed as being highly drop- and water-resistant, thanks to Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, SGS 3-meter drop-resistance certification, and IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings.
Moving on… fronting the device is a handy 6.83-inch 1.5K “Super Sunlight” AMOLED flat display with a 2,772 × 1,280 resolution, up to 120 Hz refresh rate, up to 240 Hz touch sampling rate, up to 3,500 nits peak brightness, and 3,840 Hz PWM + DC dimming that can go as low as 1 nit. It also boasts 12-bit color depth, DCI-P3 color gamut, the usual suite of eye-care technologies, an under-display optical fingerprint sensor, low-light unlocking, and Wet Touch 2.0.
Under the hood, this little big guy is powered by the Snapdragon 6s Gen 4 Mobile Platform, featuring an octa-core processor clocked at up to 2.4 GHz, paired with an Adreno GPU. Memory remains LPDDR4X, while storage comes in UFS 2.2 for the 128 GB model and UFS 3.1 for the 256 GB and 512 GB variants. There’s no expandable storage on this model, though. RAM options include 8 GB and 12 GB.
Physically, it is a tad handier at 163.45 mm tall and 78.27 mm wide, but it isn’t thinner or lighter. In fact, it is thicker at 8.46 mm and tips the scales at 226 g. There’s a good reason for that, though. It packs a—wait for it—whopping 9,000 mAh battery, also backed by Xiaomi’s Hyper G1 battery management chip. It supports 67 W wired fast charging and 22.5 W wired reverse charging, allowing it to double as a power bank for your other small devices.
For imaging, the Pro features a dual-camera setup comprising a 50 MP 1/2.76-inch main sensor (4-in-1 1.28 μm fusion pixels, 5P lens, f/1.8) and a 2 MP 1/5-inch depth camera (f/2.4). Around the front sits an 8 MP selfie camera. Both front and rear cameras support 1080p/30 and 720p/30 video recording, while the rear camera also offers 720p/120 slow-motion recording.
Other specifications include dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4/5 GHz), support for 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.1, dual nano-SIM support, comprehensive positioning (BeiDou B1I+B1C, GPS L1, Galileo E1, GLONASS G1, QZSS L1, and A-GNSS), NFC, and a more comprehensive sensor suite than the regular Note 17, including an ultrasonic proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, accelerometer, e-compass, gyroscope, and IR blaster. Oh, and it also has a linear motor, which I didn’t see listed for the regular Note 17 (though I suspect it should have one too).
Pricing and availability
The new Redmi Note 17 and Redmi Note 17 Pro have launched in China starting at 1,299 yuan [CH] (~192 USD) and 1,599 yuan [CH] (~236 USD), respectively.
Images: Xiaomi [CH].