The Xiaomi 17 Ultra could launch at a very strange time indeed

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has been tipped to launch at a seriously strange time of year.

Xiaomi’s latest flagship smartphone series, including the Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Pro, was announced in China back in September, with a global launch expected in the New Year.

We’ve been expecting the range-topping Xiaomi 17 Ultra to receive an announcement in December, and now we’ve had an indication of when exactly that might be. It’s a bit odd, at least to a global audience.

According to tipster SmartPikachu (via Huawei Central), Xiaomi will announce its new super-flagship on December 26, with pre-orders set to take place between 15 and 25 December. That’s right, it’s going to be announced on Boxing Day, when much of the world will be lazing around gorging on leftovers and bickering with their beloved.

It doesn’t exactly scream ‘prime smartphone launch time’ to us, but what do we know?

The tipster also claims that there won’t be a huge change in pricing over the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. It’s a relief that it won’t be any more expensive – £1,299 is a lot to pay for a phone – but it’s also a shame that we’re not seeing a reduction for the same reason.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra’s main spec of note will be a new 1-inch main camera sensor. The preceding model in one of the best camera phones we’ve used to date, so hopes are high that Xiaomi can impress.

We’re also expecting it to run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, as with the Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Pro.