Unboxing: The Phone With a Screen on the Back — Linus Tech Tips Review Finds
Xiaomi's latest flagship looks like an iPhone 17 Pro Max at a glance — until you flip it over. The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max packs a second, fully functional OLED display on the back of the phone, wrapped around its camera module, alongside a genuinely massive battery and the newest Snapdragon silicon. It's currently a China-only release, but here's everything worth knowing about it.
Quick Comparison
Feature | Spec | Why It Matters | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Price | ✅ ¥5,999 (~$841), China only | Flagship pricing, not yet available globally | ||
Rear Display | ✅ 2.86", 120Hz, 3,500 nits | Functional viewfinder, not just notifications | ||
Chip | ✅ Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | Among the fastest mobile chips available | ||
Battery | ✅ 7,500mAh | Unusually large for a flagship this thin | ||
Charging | ✅ 100W wired / 50W wireless | Fast enough to offset the large battery size | ||
Cameras | ✅ Triple 50MP, Leica-tuned | Rear display lets you selfie with the good cameras | ||
Availability | ❌ China-exclusive | Import-only elsewhere, no official global release |
1. Design & Rear Display
Price: ¥5,999 (~$841 USD), 12GB/512GB starting configuration
The headline feature is a 2.86-inch OLED display built directly into the back of the phone, wrapped around the camera module — a functional secondary screen, not just a notification strip.
Specs:
- Rear display: 2.86", 976x596 resolution, 120Hz, up to 3,500 nits peak brightness
- Main display: 6.9", 2608x1200 OLED, 120Hz, 92.3% screen-to-body ratio
- Xiaomi Dragon Crystal Glass 3 front cover
- 8mm thick, 219g
Why It Matters: Unlike most secondary rear displays on other phones, this one is bright and capable enough to double as a genuine camera viewfinder and media display, not just a clock or notification glance.
2. Cameras
Price: Included at the same starting price
A triple 50-megapixel Leica-tuned camera system anchors the phone, and the rear display's biggest practical benefit is letting you use these higher-quality rear sensors as your selfie camera instead of a lower-resolution front-facing one.
Specs:
- 50MP main camera (Light Hunter 950L sensor) with optical image stabilization
- 50MP ultrawide camera
- 50MP periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom
- 50MP front-facing camera
- Up to 8K video recording, with 4K120 support
Why It Matters: Being able to frame selfies and vlogging shots using the same high-quality sensors normally reserved for standard photography is a genuinely useful trick that's only possible because of the rear display.
3. Performance
Price: Included at the same starting price
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is among the first phones on the market with Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, currently considered one of the fastest mobile processors available.
Specs:
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with Adreno 840 GPU
- Up to 16GB of RAM, LPDDR5X
- UFS 4.1 storage, up to 1TB
- Android 16
Why It Matters: This is genuinely flagship-tier, class-leading silicon at launch — not a slightly older chip repackaged into a new phone.
4. Battery & Charging
Price: Included at the same starting price
A 7,500mAh battery is unusually large for a flagship phone this thin, paired with fast charging speeds on both wired and wireless connections.
Specs:
- 7,500mAh battery
- 100W wired charging
- 50W wireless charging
- 22.5W reverse wireless charging
Why It Matters: A battery this large, combined with 100W charging, addresses one of the most common flagship phone complaints — needing to charge partway through a heavy-use day.
5. Accessories
Price: Varies, some included in the box
Xiaomi bundled several accessories with the review unit, including a case with dedicated physical buttons and a separate Game Boy-style controller attachment for gaming.
Specs:
- Included: 100W charging brick, USB-C cable
- Included: Hard-shell transparent case with tactile buttons
- Separate accessory: Game Boy-style controller case with physical buttons for gaming, connects via a small magnetic cable
Why It Matters: The gaming controller accessory is a genuinely novel idea for a slab phone, even if actually gaming on the small rear display rather than the large front display is more of a fun novelty than a serious use case.
Availability
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is currently sold exclusively in China, with no confirmed global or Western market release. Import listings through third-party resellers have put pricing in other regions anywhere from roughly $940 to $1,100+ depending on configuration and import fees, though buying through unofficial channels carries the usual risks around warranty support and software localization.
Quick Buying Tips
- If you're importing this phone from outside China, confirm regional network band compatibility (especially 5G bands) before buying, since it wasn't designed with global carriers in mind.
- The rear display draws additional battery when actively used as a viewfinder or for media — the 7,500mAh battery has real headroom built in to account for this.
- Dual physical SIM slots (no eSIM-only restriction) make this a genuinely practical choice for frequent travelers who swap local SIM cards.
- If gaming on the rear display accessory interests you, treat it as a fun novelty rather than a primary use case — the front display remains the far more practical screen for actual gameplay.
Final Thoughts
The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max's rear display isn't just a gimmick — it's a genuinely functional second screen that improves selfie and vlogging camera quality in a way no notification-strip rear display has managed before. Combined with class-leading Snapdragon silicon, a massive 7,500mAh battery, and 100W charging, this is a legitimately compelling flagship held back only by its current China-exclusive availability.
