Xiaomi's next flagship has a second display on the back – and you won't believe its iPhone-inspired name

A new name, a second screen, and a powerful chipset

· TechRadar

News By James Rogerson published 16 September 2025

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

  • The Xiaomi 17 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max have been teased
  • These phones have an iPhone-inspired name and camera block
  • However, they also have standout features like a rear screen and a powerful new chipset

Xiaomi has just teased its next flagship phone series, and so far, there are three quite notable things about these handsets – two of which sound promising, and the other being more questionable.

That questionable aspect is the name, particularly of the top model, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. Yes, you read that right: Xiaomi's next flagship phone is called the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. For reference, the current top model in the series is the Xiaomi 15 Ultra.

So, Xiaomi has skipped the number 16, in all likelihood, to coincide with the same number as the iPhone 17 series. On top of that, it's renamed the top model to match the naming of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

What's more, the camera block on the new Xiaomi flagship – shown off in a teaser video (via Android Authority) – looks wider and more iPhone 17 Pro-like here than on previous models.

The Xiaomi 17 Pro (Image credit: Xiaomi)

But, in fairness, Xiaomi looks to be making better use of the large camera block than Apple, because rather than much of it just being empty space, it houses a ‘Magic Back Screen’.

This is a secondary display on the back of the phone, one that you can use to view the clock, as a viewfinder for selfie photos (meaning you can use the main cameras for those), and to see information from apps.

This actually isn’t a new thing for Xiaomi, as the company tried a similar idea with the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra years ago. To my mind, that made it one of the most interesting phones of that year, and while Xiaomi ditched the rear screen for subsequent models, I’m pleased to see it’s returning here – and in what looks to be a larger and more capable form.

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