The first 200 MP Leica-tuned main camera apparently produces 115 MB photo files

Do 2 TB storage phones exist solely because of the 200 MP camera revolution? Perhaps.

The Xiaomi 17 Max is an upcoming big-screen flagship that is supposed to bring along the first 200 MP main camera that's fine-tuned by Leica.

The maxed-out Xiaomi 17 Ultra phone, which also gets the Leica treatment, comes with a 50 MP main snapper.

The sheer megapixel count doesn't tell the whole story and you should assume that the 200 MP main cam on the Xiaomi 17 Max will be better than the 50 MP main cam of the Ultra model.

One thing is (rumored to be) guaranteed, though – the new 200 MP snapper might produce some super heavy files.

What is the Xiaomi 17 Max?

We've mentioned the Xiaomi 17 Max several times here on PhoneArena. To summarize, it's going to be a large (hence the "Max" moniker) flagship that emphasizes its camera setup. The main differentiator between this upcoming model and the Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models is that the new one would lack the rear display on the camera island.

The Xiaomi 17 Max is expected to launch next week in China, but don't hold your hopes about a global release too high.

First-ever 200 MP cam

As it seems, Xiaomi has started teasing the 17 Max model heavily in the last hours.

At the center is Xiaomi's first Leica co-engineered 200 MP main camera, but that's not the end of it.

Xiaomi president Lu Weibing highlighted that the main camera packs a large 1/1.4-inch sensor and supports multi-frame fusion algorithms (for better dynamic range). In effect, this combines several exposures and data layers. We're promised higher detail clarity and better overall low-light performance.

Xiaomi says the photos taken with the 17 Max are super sharp even when cropping in – but this one will be confirmed after a bit of testing, as usual.

A single photo of 115 MB

Apparently, for the promotional materials' needs, Xiaomi has taken a single full-resolution photo with the 200 MP camera, and its file has reportedly a size of 114.97 MB. Pretty impressive, as 200 MP cameras often go from 50 to 100 MB.

So, if you go for the Xiaomi 17 Max and you intend to shoot in full resolution mode often, please skip the 256 GB storage version. Ten such photos would take up a whole gigabyte of your phone's space. And you know how quickly ten photos can be taken.

What else is there?

Per current rumors, we're expecting a 3x periscope telephoto lens, an 8,000 mAh battery, a 6.9-inch display, narrow bezels, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and three colors (blue, white, black) to choose from.

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