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Xiaomi’s SkyNomad N90 Max is an extended-range EV with a transforming interior

2026-07-30T11:44:47-04:00

Hopefully, nobody is giving coffee to that dog. | Image: Xiaomi

The SkyNomad N90 Max is the latest electric SUV from Xiaomi and its first extended-range EV, with a claimed range of over 1,705 km (about 1,059 miles). It will come in both five- and seven-seat configurations, as well as an N90 Max Camping Edition.

One of the big features of the N90 is its highly customizable interior. The front seats rotate 180 degrees, the center armrest slides out to become a small table, and the second row features zero gravity seats with footrests. The Camping Edition adds a pop-up top, a rooftop bed platform, an attachment point for a tent, and a detachable table. Some models will also include a fridge and overhead sp …

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Xiaomi 17T Pro arrives with the company’s biggest battery yet

2026-05-28T09:02:02-04:00

The 17T (left) and 17T Pro (right) are both bigger than the regular Xiaomi 17.

Xiaomi has announced the 17T and 17T Pro, two cheaper spins on its 17 series flagships. As is usual for the T-series, the focus is more on performance than photography, with the biggest batteries Xiaomi has included on any of its phones outside China yet.

The 17T includes a 6,500mAh silicon-carbon battery, while the 17T Pro goes even bigger with 7,000mAh, which I found to be enough to keep the phone running for up to two days. Xiaomi has included bigger batteries than these on previous China-only phones - the recent 17 Max has an 8,000mAh capacity - but never its international models, except those released under subsidiary Poco.

Both phone …

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The US gets the worst phones

2026-04-24T09:11:27-04:00

Apple and Samsung dominate the US phone market, and they've done so for years. Together with Google, they've shaped our sense of what a smartphone is and what it can do, pushing the boundaries of mobile photography, software, and processing power. But over the last few years, they've sat back, content to iterate rather than innovate - and in the interim, China's tech giants have plowed ahead. Now a gulf is growing between the phones on sale in the US and those available in the rest of the world. US phone buyers are missing out.

Some of the blame for that gap lies with Apple. Where it goes, the market follows, and in recent years it's gone s …

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Poco’s first Pro Max phone earns the name with an 8,500mAh battery

2026-03-17T08:29:52-04:00

The RGB light rings are surprisingly subtle.

Xiaomi subsidiary Poco has launched the X8 Pro and X8 Pro Max phones, both of which feature large silicon-carbon batteries, powerful chipsets, and 256GB of storage as standard, with stronger specs on paper than the recent Pixel 10A despite costing less. Both Poco phones also feature a surprisingly subtle take on RGB lighting, with small rings of LEDs inside each of their rear cameras.

The X8 Pro Max, a new tier in Poco's X line, is the more exciting of the two thanks to a huge 8,500mAh silicon-carbon battery - with an even larger 9,000mAh version available in India and some other markets. Either way, it should make for two to three days of …

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Xiaomi, unlike Google and Samsung, thinks camera hardware comes first

2026-03-03T10:24:35-05:00

Xiaomi’s new Leica Leitzphone has new hardware tricks including continuous zoom and a LOFIC sensor. | Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge

When it launched the 17 and 17 Ultra in Europe on Saturday, Xiaomi bucked an industry trend: it didn't really talk about AI all that much. And it really didn't talk about AI when it showed off the two phones' cameras, including a special edition 17 Ultra co-created with Leica. According to Angus Ng, the company's director of communications and public relations, that's no mistake.

"We're still currently focusing on what is the limitation of hardware," Ng told me at MWC 2026, when I asked why its photography approach seemed so different to Google and Samsung's recent Pixel 10A and Galaxy S26 launches. "If it really comes to a point where we c …

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Xiaomi’s Leica Leitzphone mostly earns the name

2026-03-03T12:01:14-05:00

The Leitzphone has just launched internationally alongside a regular version of the 17 Ultra.

Xiaomi and Leica's long-running phone partnership just got a little closer. Alongside the new international release of its 17 Ultra flagship, Xiaomi has been entrusted with manufacturing a separate version that is the first Leica Leitzphone to release outside of Japan, following three Sharp-made models exclusive to the country.

In truth, the Leitzphone is a 17 Ultra with Leica branding and a rotatable camera ring, and apart from a few design tweaks, it's mostly the same as the Leica Edition of that phone already available in China. But the branding is a big deal: Leica hasn't let Xiaomi use its red dot logo on hardware until now, even thoug …

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Xiaomi 17 is a small(ish) phone with a big(ish) battery

2026-02-28T08:59:57-05:00

The Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra are launching together, but there’s no sign of the Pro.

Xiaomi has just given a global launch to two of its latest flagship phones, the Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra, along with a Leica-branded Leitzphone edition of the Ultra. There's no sign, however, of the 17 Pro, which launched in China with an additional display mounted next to the rear cameras.

The 17 and 17 Ultra will apparently be available soon in the UK, Europe, and select other markets. The 17 - pitched as a rival to the likes of the iPhone 17 and Samsung Galaxy S26 - will cost £899 / €999 (about $1,200), while the larger and more capable Ultra starts from £1,299 / €1,499 ($1,750). The limited-edition Leitzphone will be substantially more ex …

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Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra Leica edition has a rotatable camera zoom

2025-12-29T08:23:33-05:00

It’s also the first Xiaomi phone to include Leica’s little red dot logo.

Xiaomi used the Christmas period to launch its top flagship phone for the year, the 17 Ultra. It drops the extra rear display that's the key selling point of the 17 Pro, but instead adds in the option of a manual zoom ring, built directly into the phone's camera island.

That rotating zoom is only included in the new Leica edition of the phone, which also packs touches like the Leica red dot logo and a textured finish on the phone's sides. The ring can be reprogrammed for exposure or focus if you prefer, and the Leica version has a few custom software touches too, like unique film simulation effects, and physical accessories like a lens cap …

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Poco partners with Bose to put a subwoofer in its latest phone

2025-11-25T17:32:18-05:00

Poco is at pains to admit that this “denim blue” version of the F8 Ultra includes no actual denim fabric.

Xiaomi spin-off brand Poco has partnered with Bose to help its new F8 phones stand out in an increasingly crowded market. Both the F8 Pro and F8 Ultra feature stereo speakers designed collaboratively with the audio company, and the Ultra goes one step further by including a subwoofer too.

Both new F8 phones feature the same dual stereo speakers tuned by Bose, though you'll have to buy the Ultra if you want the benefits of the subwoofer as well, which Poco says delivers "deeper, more impactful bass." Additionally, there are two sound profiles tuned by Bose engineers: a Dynamic mode that delivers extra bass, and a Balanced option that emphasi …

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Xiaomi’s retro handheld phone case is the best, and worst, way to game

2025-09-25T11:26:06-04:00

What is this, a D-pad for iPods?

Have you ever thought your favorite mobile games would be improved by awkward ergonomics, a dreadful D-pad, and a couple of camera lenses blocking a third of the screen? Then oh boy, does Xiaomi have the phone for you.

Today it announced its flagship 17 series phones in China, led by the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max (any naming similarity to Apple is resolutely not a coincidence). Those two Pro models mostly stand out for the inclusion of a second screen on the back, which stretches across the wide camera island. It can be used to frame selfies, set timers, and control music playback, but all I can think about is Xiaomi's official accessory to co …

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