Underwhelming battery longevity was a surprise weakness, while Xiaomi still needs to work on its user experience.
Availability in more markets would have been nice, too.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra: Two-minute review
Say hello to another bombastic entrant in Xiaomi’s Ultra series.
Xiaomi once again launched a Photography Kit accessory pack with its latest Ultra(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
The company then staged an international release in Barcelona just days later, on March 2.
In some markets, there’s also a higher 1TB storage model, which costs 200 more.
Both also come with less RAM than the Xiaomi.
One of the most notable cosmetic changes is to the camera hardware.
In theory, a drop on that ‘All Round Liquid Display’ shouldn’t prove fatal.
As with the 14 Ultra, the viewing experience here is unquestionably excellent.
It also served as the launchpad for their AI feature set.
Now, the Xiaomi 15 series arrives on HyperOS 2.0 (running atop Android 15).
That lead 50MP sensor is just the start, of course.
Xiaomi once again launched a Photography Kit accessory pack with its latest Ultra(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Thankfully, that doesn’t appear to be a problem with the 15 Ultra’s videography skills.
60fps instead of 30fps), the phone never rose past a slight warmth.
When enabled, the phone hit 44% in 30 minutes and 100% in 50.
This generation is called the ‘Legend Edition’, complete with detachable raised shutter and thumb grip(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Should you buy the Xiaomi 15 Ultra?
It’s just a shame it isn’t as globally available as Apple’s or Samsung’s latest.
4 / 5
Display & audio
An already excellent display made smarter and tougher.
Speaker are good, but there’s a little room for improvement.
Software
Xiaomi has tinkered with most of the HyperOS experience for its 2.0 release, mainly for the better.
Xiaomi needs to extend its OS update commitment, though.
While it’s strong on all fronts, its camera is the prime reason to consider it.
As for long-term use, only four years of OS updates for a phone this expensive isn’t great.
Look familiar Apple Intelligence users?
The 15 Ultra’s image editing toolset
The 200MP telephoto can let in enough light for fast-motion macro shooting(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Leica ‘Blue’ monochrome filter(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Minimum amount of bokeh in Portrait mode(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Standard amount of bokeh in Portrait mode(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Maximum amount of bokeh in Portrait mode (note where edge detection falters around the whiskers)(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Macro mode(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Macro mode(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Night mode tends to over-correct on white balance, but otherwise impresses(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Accurate real-world lighting conditions in which the Night mode shot was taken(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Leica Vibrant(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Leica Authentic(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
