The Xiaomi 17T is the first standard T-series phone to get the full Leica treatment.

The triple camera system pairs a 50MP main camera (1/1.55″ Light Fusion 800 sensor, f/1.7, OIS) with a 50MP periscope telephoto at 115mm, giving you 5x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide covering 120°, all behind a Leica VARIO-SUMMILUX lens system. The rest of the phone keeps pace: a 6.59-inch display hitting 3,500 nits peak brightness at 120Hz, a Dimensity 8500-Ultra chip, and a 6,500mAh silicon-carbon battery with 67W charging.

On paper, it’s a lot of camera in a small body.

The Leica integration goes deeper than a badge.

You get two photographic styles, Authentic and Vibrant, plus Leica filters, the classic shutter sound, and an optional watermark. More useful in practice are Leica Live Moment, which captures motion just before the shutter fires, and the telephoto’s 30cm minimum focus distance, which turns the 5x lens into a genuinely capable telemacro. The Authentic profile is the one I keep coming back to.

It preserves shadow and contrast where most phone cameras would process the scene into flat HDR mush, and the results have real character.

What keeps me reaching for it, though, is the size.

This is a compact phone with a proper periscope telephoto, and it changes how often you shoot. It lives in my pocket and comes out in two seconds, and the shots hold up far better than anything this small should manage. No bag, no planning. The old line says the best camera is the one you have with you.

For once, the one I have with me is alright.