Xiaomi 17 Pro Max Review — Real Daily-Use Test in South Africa

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This is the Baldins Tech Finder review of the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, and it’s a proper daily-use review. I’ve been using this phone as my main device for about two to three weeks here in South Africa, so this isn’t a spec-sheet read-off. This is how it actually performs day to day.

Battery life — this is where it starts

Let’s talk about one of the main features of a phone like this: the great battery life. It’s got a huge 7,500 mAh battery, and it can genuinely last you about two days in regular use. On a heavy day I pulled around 10 hours of screen-on time and still went to bed with 20% left. That’s not a number I’m quoting off a box — that’s what I actually got.

Charging is just as good. It’s 100W fast charging, the charger is included in the box, and it takes the phone from empty to full in about an hour.

Cameras

It’s a triple camera setup and it’s probably one of the best camera sets you can get on a smartphone right now. You’re looking at a 50MP main (f/1.7, OIS), a 50MP periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide — all tuned with Leica. The clever part is the secondary screen on the back: you can use it as a viewfinder, so your subject can see themselves, or you can line up shots using the rear cameras for selfies.

The main screen

The main display is also great. It’s large, it’s crisp, it’s accurate. It’s a 6.9-inch 120Hz LTPO AMOLED with up to 3,500 nits peak brightness, Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It’s a genuinely excellent panel.

Fingerprint reader

One of my favourite things is the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. It’s ridiculously fast, and in the few weeks I’ve used it, it has never once read my fingerprint wrong.

Speakers

The stereo speakers are great — loud and clear, with Dolby Atmos.

Using it as an imported phone in South Africa

This is the part a lot of people care about, so I tested the features people actually worry about.

• Network: Signal was great. I tested specifically on MTN and it actually picked up network better than the Samsung I’d been using, pulling stronger signal in the same areas.
• Google services: Everything works perfectly — Play Store, YouTube, all your Google services.
• Banking apps: I tested FNB specifically, no issues.
• Payments: Google Wallet, Google Pay and Tap to Pay all worked fine. I know that’s a big concern with imported phones, so I’m glad to confirm it works.

What didn’t work

I’m laying this out clearly because it matters to some people:

• Android Auto: I couldn’t get it to connect in the one car I tested.
• Samsung Galaxy Watch: I have a Watch 6 Classic and I did get it to sync using the Galaxy app and the Wear OS app from the Chinese app store. It connected, sent notifications, and tracked steps and health data fine — but I couldn’t add more apps to the watch. From what I’ve read online that’s a known limitation, though I haven’t fully tested it. Other Wear OS watches may behave differently, and non-Wear OS watches like Huawei should work perfectly, though I haven’t tested those myself yet.

The verdict

After two to three weeks of daily use, I have to say it’s actually amazing — one of the best phones you can buy right now. The main drawback, honestly, is that Android Auto doesn’t work. For me that’s not a big deal, but I know it is for some people, which is why I’m being upfront about it.

But in terms of what’s available on the market right now, this is a Pro Max and it lives up to the name. If you want a phone that does everything at the top level, this is it.

Xiaomi 17 Pro Max — Quick Specs

Full technical specs on GSMArena.