Lei Jun didn't take the stage, and the starting price of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has increased by 500 yuan.

On December 25th, Xiaomi held a new product launch event for the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.

Notably, this launch event was hosted and introduced by Lu Weibing, the President of Xiaomi Group (01810.HK), and other Xiaomi executives. Lei Jun, the founder, Chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi, did not take the stage to give a speech. During the live broadcast, the camera panned across Lei Jun several times.

This is not the first time Lei Jun has missed a speech at a launch event. In February 2024, Lei Jun stated on his personal Weibo that in order to focus on car - making and prepare for the launch of the Xiaomi SU7, he would temporarily step away from public launch events and hand over the baton to Lu Weibing. At the subsequent launch event of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Lei Jun missed a Xiaomi mobile phone launch event for the first time.

Actually, Lei Jun has also frequently missed several auto shows this year. In November, Lei Jun missed the Guangzhou Auto Show; in April, he missed the Shanghai Auto Show. At that time, Wang Hua, who was then the General Manager of Public Relations at Xiaomi Group, responded in an interview with the media, "Mr. Lei really wanted to come, but his schedule had other arrangements, which conflicted with the auto show."

At this launch event, Lu Weibing introduced that the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is the first 2D straight - screen model in the Xiaomi Ultra series and also the thinnest Ultra to date, with a thickness of only 8.29mm. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is equipped with the fifth - generation Snapdragon 8 Extreme Edition. In terms of imaging, it uses a 14mm ultra - wide - angle lens, a 23mm one - inch main camera, and a 75 - 100mm 200 - megapixel periscope telephoto lens.

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra further promotes ecological interconnection with Apple and is the first to support the iPhone's "Mi Enjoy Desktop", enabling complete screen mirroring and control of Xiaomi mobile phones on the iPhone.

In addition, Xiaomi also announced an upgrade of its global imaging strategic cooperation with Leica and introduced a new "strategic co - creation model". Based on the new model, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica was also launched at this event.

Both the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition have started pre - sales on official channels such as the Xiaomi Mall, Xiaomi Home, Xiaomi's official Tmall flagship store, and Xiaomi's official JD.com flagship store.

Image source: Xiaomi official website

In terms of price, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra starts at 6,999 yuan. Just looking at the starting price of the entry - level model, it has increased by 500 yuan compared to the previous generation. Previously, Lu Weibing had previewed in a live broadcast that the price of the new - generation flagship model, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, would increase. Lu Weibing said at that time that from the end of 2022 to the present, for almost three years, AI has experienced explosive growth. Based on overall judgment, 2025, 2026, and 2027 will all be periods of rising memory costs. The sharp increase in memory prices has led to a significant increase in mobile phone costs. When the Xiaomi 15 Ultra was launched in February this year, the official said it was "the last time at 6,499 yuan".

As Lu Weibing previously revealed at Xiaomi's Q3 earnings conference, Xiaomi has signed a full - year supply agreement for 2026 with its partners to ensure that the annual supply is not affected. He also said that in the future, Xiaomi may relieve cost pressure through price increases and product structure upgrades. If the retail price of mobile phones rises, the overall mobile phone market will definitely decline, but it is currently difficult to quantify the specific proportion.

However, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra starts with 12GB + 512GB, while the Xiaomi 15 Ultra starts with 12GB + 256GB, and the price of the latter is 6,499 yuan. This means that although the starting price of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has increased, it has upgraded the memory specification. In addition, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with 16GB + 512GB is priced at 7,499 yuan, and 16GB + 1TB is priced at 8,499 yuan; the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica with 16GB + 512GB is priced at 7,999 yuan, and 16GB + 1TB is priced at 8,999 yuan.

In contrast, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra with 16GB + 512GB is priced at 6,999 yuan, and 16GB + 1TB is priced at 7,799 yuan; the Xiaomi 15 Ultra Dual - Satellite Edition with 16GB + 1TB is priced at 7,999 yuan.

After this launch event, the starting price of Xiaomi's flagship high - end version has also reached the 7,000 - yuan level and will directly compete with Huawei's Mate series and the high - end versions of the iPhone. The Huawei Mate 80 Pro with 16GB + 512GB, launched at the end of November this year, is priced at 6,999 yuan; the Huawei Mate 80 Pro Max with 16GB + 512GB is priced at 7,999 yuan.

The starting price of the Apple iPhone 17 is 5,999 yuan, the iPhone Pro is 8,999 yuan, the Pro Max is 9,999 yuan, and the top - spec iPhone Pro Max (2TB) is priced at 17,999 yuan.

Zhang Yi, the CEO and Chief Analyst of iiMedia Research, believes that the strategic intention of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra for Xiaomi is very clear. Firstly, it is to gain a foothold in the high - end market. The current industry competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and product prices are constantly dropping, which is not beneficial to Xiaomi's brand positioning. Especially in the context of Xiaomi's entry into the automotive field, it is even more necessary to rely on high - end products to shape a high - quality brand image and then enhance the overall brand value. From the pricing strategy, Xiaomi clearly has the intention to break through to the high - end, but at the same time, it remains somewhat conservative. The setting of this critical price point not only reflects its aspiration to enter the high - end market but also reflects the game between concerns about sales volume and confidence.

"Fortunately, this product integrates Leica's technological advantages and enhances its high - end attributes with Leica's brand endorsement," Zhang Yi said. This means that the product will mainly deliver value to core user groups such as enthusiasts and photography lovers. Therefore, the core goal of this product may not be to pursue extremely high sales volume. Improving the brand level may be a more important strategic consideration.

IDC data shows that in the third quarter of 2025, vivo ranked first in the Chinese market with a market share of 17.2%. Apple, Huawei, and Xiaomi ranked second, third, and fourth respectively, with market shares of 15.8%, 15.2%, and 14.7% in sequence. IDC said that although the year - on - year growth trend of shipments in the past two years was halted this quarter, against the backdrop of the fluctuating overall market environment, shipments were still steadily controlled, and inventory levels were maintained in a healthy range through refined channel management.

Image source: IDC Consulting

This article is from the WeChat public account "Times Finance APP" (ID: tf - app). The author is Guo Meiting, and the editor is Lin Mingming. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.