Abandoning the classic 2K for a screen with a "hybrid" resolution is not a trivial choice. The Chinese company has decided to take a risk, bringing up Xiaomi 17 Pro Max a technology that divides: the Super pixel, designed to combine energy efficiency and high-end visual quality. But what does this mean? And what will it actually bring to the super top of the range next series of smartphones?
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max: What is the Super Pixel display?
At the heart of the innovation is a novel approach to panel construction. Each pixel is made up of three independent subpixels (red, green, and blue) for a total of 9,38 million. In practice, we no longer look solely at the "2K" number as an indicator of sharpness, but at how light is managed at a microscopic level.
The idea, at least on paper, is to obtain an image comparable to that of the most defined displays, with a lower consumption than even the latest 1,5K panels.
Such a gamble wasn't painless. Within Xiaomi, the choice has sparked doubts and discussions, as Lei Jun himself revealed: is it really worth it? abandon a label that has been established for a decade? For many, going from 2K to a lower number risked feeling like a step backwards.
But the technical look reveals the opposite. The real challenge was not the resolution itself, but the maniacal precision required in the positioning of the subpixels: a very delicate operation that required three years of research and development for the company.
Overcoming this obstacle has allowed the technology to be brought to mass production. An achievement that, beyond marketing, highlights how much theconsumption optimization is now a central theme. Moreover, an energy-hungry panel would risk nullifying any other hardware progress. Considering then the already huge batteries of the two top models of the series.
The promise of a screen with “2K” visual performance on the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max but with efficiency higher than 1,5K fits precisely into this context.
