Xiaomi 15 Ultra Review: The Super Leica Phone

The 15 Ultra, Xiaomi’s third-generation camera-focused smartphone, is a robust contender within the phase that appeals to digital camera fans in India. Premium smartphone customers are spoilt for selection at the moment, particularly if there’s an inclination to get a telephone that nails smartphone pictures. In the lengthy checklist of telephones out there at the moment, together with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Xiaomi 15, there are different choices like Vivo X200 Pro, Vivo X200, Oppo Find X8, and Oppo Find X8 Pro.

If anybody had requested me about which camera-focused telephone to purchase virtually 5 years in the past, I’d have beneficial the iPhone or Samsung’s top-tier fashions to customers. But that’s now not the case. That means the phase is increasing and is a win-win state of affairs for customers.

The new Xiaomi 15 Ultra continues the nice work achieved by its predecessor – Xiaomi 14 Ultra – by being a really efficient evolution (and if we take Xiaomi 13 Pro additionally into consideration). Xiaomi has completed an amazing job by sticking to the profitable system and ensuring there’s the Leica branding on it. That’s greater than a profitable badge of honour for a class centered on pictures, and having the legendary digital camera maker emblem is extra than simply reassuring.

So, if you’re out out there and wish to purchase a digital camera flagship smartphone, do you have to choose the Xiaomi 15 Ultra? Let me reply that in my assessment.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra Design: Mimics Classic Leica Camera

• It is available in a single Silver Chrome color
• It weighs 229 grams and is on the heavier aspect
• The 15 Ultra measures 9.48mm thick

You do not have to be an knowledgeable to inform that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is geared toward digital camera fans. Iconic seems to be and legendary Leica rangefinder digital camera series-inspired aesthetics are on level, making the 15 Ultra stand out out there. The rear sports activities an aerospace-grade glass fibre and PU leather-based mixture, providing a premium and basic look. The unibody body of the 15 Ultra feels strong and provides a superb in-hand really feel.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra (on the left) and Xiaomi 15 Ultra (on the correct)

 

For somebody who could also be choosing a camera-focused smartphone, the digital camera deco in the back of the 15 Ultra might be an excessive amount of. The 4 cameras match into a big round digital camera module. At 229 grams, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is on the heavier aspect, and it took me just a few days to get acquainted with the machine and begin utilizing it extra with only one hand. The aesthetics are wonderful, and due to the rear design (PU leather-based + glass fibre mixture), it really works properly for a one-hand grip.

For enhanced safety from unintended drops and every day put on and tear, Xiaomi has gone a notch above for the 15 Ultra and used the Xiaomi Guardian Structure, which utilises an aluminium body, Corning Gorilla Glass 7i for the digital camera deco, and the Xiaomi Shield Glass 2.0 on the entrance.

Rear design comparability: Xiaomi 14 Ultra (on the left) and Xiaomi 15 Ultra (on the correct)

 

The quad-curved show provides to the character of the machine, and skinny bezels make it splendid for multimedia consumption. The telephone additionally will get an IP68 ranking for mud and water ingress safety. While many customers could begin nitpicking Xiaomi for not including an IP69 ranking to the Ultra, I do not see any level on this until you actually like to make use of your telephone round water jets. Yes, it is good to have in your spec sheet, however I do not suppose you might be lacking quite a bit. Xiaomi 15 Ultra additionally switches to an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner from the optical we bought on its predecessor.

One factor I completely love concerning the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is its consideration to element. The addition of the Ultra hallmark on the again (high left) provides to the attraction and makes the design impeccable for a digital camera fanatic. 

Overall, the 15 Ultra is the purest digital camera telephone for fans.

 

Photography Kit Legend Edition – How can we discuss concerning the design and never deliver up the unique Photography Kit for the 15 Ultra? The camera-inspired accent provides extra firepower to the already highly effective Xiaomi 15 Ultra. The equipment features a removable shutter button and thumb help, together with a 2000mAh battery pack that gives extra juice whilst you’re busy snapping photographs or movies. The equipment additionally features a grip case that enhances the general appear and feel of the telephone. Then, there is a customisation dial for adjusting EV, shutter, ISO and white steadiness, the zoom lever provides a brand new dimension to the general zooming expertise. The good contact is a fast video button that immediately begins video recording and allows you to customise side ratio, auto publicity, and extra. The equipment additionally permits a customisable UI model Fastshot mode for fast photographs, and your complete bundle is IP54 rated (together with the battery pack). While the equipment undoubtedly provides worth to your complete proposition, I am unable to deny that it makes the entire bundle type of cool and makes the telephone a head-turner in each means.

The telephone is available in a Silver Chrome color choice and weighs 229 grams

 

Long story brief, in the event you’re somebody who actually desires to unlock the beast pictures mode in your 15 Ultra, then go for the equipment.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra Display: Straight to the Top of the Class

• Offers 3200nits peak brightness
• Supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision
• Xiaomi Shield Glass 2.0 safety

The 15 Ultra retains the show from its predecessor, and it’s among the many finest we’ve seen on a Xiaomi machine but. There’s one large addition, and that is for peak brightness. From 14 Ultra’s 3000nits peak brightness, Xiaomi has bumped 15 Ultra to 3200nits. In real-world utilization, you could not be capable to inform the distinction, however having the next quantity for brightness is nice. This helps Xiaomi beat a lot of the competitors out there, like Pixel 9 Pro XL (3000nits peak brightness), Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (2600nits), and even iPhone 16 Pro Max (2000nits). However, it stays behind Vivo X200 Pro (4500nits), Find X8 Pro (4500nits), and OnePlus 13 (4500nits).

It contains a 6.73-inch LTPO show with a 1440×3200 pixels display screen decision

 

The show additionally options an adaptive 120Hz refresh fee that may go all the way down to as little as 1Hz. The telephone will get the remainder of the bells and whistles one expects from a flagship-grade Android smartphone, together with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision help. It additionally helps Widevine L1 so you may watch HDR content material on fashionable OTT apps.

The 6.73-inch OLED show of the 15 Ultra serves as a superb multimedia display screen on your gaming, binge watching or Internet looking. It additionally will get 1920Hz PWM dimming, DC dimming, and moist contact tech, which turns out to be useful whereas utilizing the telephone with sweaty arms. Apart from all these, the 15 Ultra additionally will get TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light and related certifications to make your bedtime studying in your telephone handy. Overall, the 15 Ultra sports activities a superb show; you will not be left demanding extra.

The largest spotlight of the show is it helps 3200nits peak brightness

 

Xiaomi 15 Ultra Cameras: The Company’s North Star

• 50-megapixel Leica 23mm main digital camera (1-inch LYT-900 picture sensor)
• 200-megapixel extremely Leica telephoto with 100mm equal focal size
• 50-megapixel 70mm Leica floating telephoto
• 50-megapixel ultra-wide digital camera with 115-degree subject of view
• 32-megapixel in-display selfie digital camera

The 14 Ultra was a strong telephone for pictures final 12 months, so the most important doubt I had concerning the 15 Ultra was how it might surpass its predecessor. There are some additions to the 15 Ultra, like the brand new 200-megapixel telephoto sensor, that add muscle to the general bundle, and thoughts you, not one of the competitor units have that kind of functionality. You get 0.6x, 1x, 2x, 3x, and 4.3x zoom choices on the digital camera app. However, there’s one little downgrade: omitting the variable aperture on the 15 Ultra, however that is not a deal-breaker by any means.

So, let’s soar to the digital camera samples, beginning with daylight SAMPLES. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra can click on sensible daylight photographs with loads of element, correct publicity and a large dynamic vary. The color science of Leica is obvious within the outcomes and is just too good for smartphone pictures fans. The colors are pure and seem crisp. The pores and skin tones are pure, too, and there is barely noise in daylight photographs.

The firm is promoting the Photography Kit Legend Edition individually for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra

 

Switching between 1x and 2x does not spoil picture high quality – a formidable feat. The samples captured utilizing the 2x lens are equally outstanding.

(*15*)

Xiaomi 15 Ultra daylight digital camera samples (faucet photographs to broaden)

 

 

The portrait mode is a type of USP of the Xiaomi Ultra units, and 15 Ultra nails it. Portraits with folks come out properly, and depth estimation, topic isolation and pure blur are easy.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra portrait digital camera pattern (faucet picture to broaden)

 

When it involves zoom efficiency, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will certainly be among the many high telephones this 12 months. I managed to click on a ship within the ocean that was barely seen on the telephone digital camera at 0.6x with the assistance of the long-range tele digital camera. When premium telephones just like the iPhone misplaced monitor of the topic past 25x zoom, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra impressed me with its robust zoom credentials. If you are somebody who clicks many zoom photographs, simply seize this one. The 3x zoom photographs come out properly with superb colors, dynamic vary, low noise, and particulars. The 4.3x telephoto is even higher for portraits and provides you adequate room to suit your topic within the body. The outcomes are beneath, and I used to be blown away by what the 15 Ultra can obtain with this terrific mixture.

A ship within the ocean seems like a dot in 0.6x (faucet picture to broaden)

The ship is seen with the title being readable, displaying the 15 Ultra’s zooming functionality

Xiaomi 15 Ultra zoom samples (faucet photographs to broaden)

 

 

 

The telephone can be succesful with regards to close-up photographs, and a 3x telephoto lens is used for that. Excellent close-up photos with sufficient particulars and natural-looking photographs with correct colors.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra can be a succesful smartphone for close-up photographs (faucet photographs to broaden)

 

In this complete ensemble, the ultrawide digital camera on the 15 Ultra is the one one that might have been barely higher. Mind you, it’s not a letdown and might reproduce some nice photographs with wonderful dynamic vary. It’s simply that if you evaluate ultrawide with the principle digital camera, it barely lacks total high quality.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra ultrawide samples (faucet photographs to broaden)

 

 

Of course, there are Leica photographic types – Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant – to boost your portraits and take the higher hand on social media platforms.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra low-light samples (faucet photographs to broaden)

 

This is the place it will get actually attention-grabbing. The evening pictures on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is implausible. The telephone is able to capturing excessive ranges of element in low-light conditions. During my testing, the 15 Ultra principally maintained highlights, sharpness, shadows, and particulars and stored noise in test in low-light circumstances. The telephone was additionally able to preserving superb textures in test.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra selfie pattern (faucet picture to broaden)

 

If there’s one division the place I may actually ask the Xiaomi staff to enhance within the digital camera division, it must be a selfie shooter. It’s not unhealthy, however it’s not outstanding too. For a telephone made for smartphone pictures fans, you count on extra from each digital camera sensor. The entrance digital camera is succesful through the daytime with no main points with particulars, however within the low-light eventualities, it will get a bit unpredictable.

Of course, the digital camera telephone can be constructed for movies. It helps 4K 60fps log video recording throughout all focal lengths and 4K 120fps cinematic gradual movement video recording with each the principle and periscope telephoto cameras. The video high quality is top-notch, however how a lot would a content material creator wish to deliver it into their every day workflow will depend upon the ecosystem of units for faster video enhancing.

Overall, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra would be the digital camera smartphone to beat in 2025, and I’m guessing competitors, together with the likes of Oppo and Vivo, are already engaged on new Ultras. The 14 Ultra is already a succesful smartphone for pictures, however with the 15 Ultra, it has been pushed to the acute with two tele cameras. It’s the last word point-and-shoot smartphone for fans. If you wish to increase the stakes, spend some extra and seize the Photography Kit Legend Edition for the 15 Ultra that takes you to a different stage.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra Performance: Boringly Brilliant

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform
• 16GB + 512GB (single variant)
• HyperOS 2.0 primarily based on Android 15
• 4 years of software program help and 6 years of safety updates promised

Xiaomi 15 Ultra is amongst a handful of units launched this 12 months with Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite platform. In on a regular basis utilization, there’s barely something that this telephone cannot deal with, be it multitasking, streaming movies, picture enhancing on the go, video enhancing, gaming or anything you may consider. For context, I examined the telephone with virtually 32 apps open within the background, and even when leaping between them, it did not stutter – completely top-tier efficiency – as anticipated.

The telephone ships in a single RAM and ROM variant in India – 16GB and 512GB storage. However, Xiaomi despatched me a 1TB variant, solely out there in China, for assessment. Talking about specifics, the 15 Ultra will get LPDDR5X and UFS 4.1 storage.

In India, the telephone is out there in single RAM and storage trim – 16GB + 512GB

 

Talking about biometrics, the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is fast in comparison with the one we noticed on the 14 Ultra. There’s additionally face unlock, which works properly, however I most popular the fingerprint sensor through the assessment for every day use. For individuals who love gaming, there is a 3D Dual-Channel IceLoop system which helps settle down the telephone. In my time with the machine, I observed that the 15 Ultra did warmth up whereas operating Google Maps for constantly 45 minutes or extra, gaming for greater than 40 minutes, and even whereas digital camera use for greater than 25 minutes. But, it by no means grew to become too difficult to deal with, and naturally, the cooling system kicked in rapidly.

I examined the Xiaomi 15 Ultra with a collection of benchmarking apps, and as anticipated, the telephone shines with spectacular scores, which you’ll be able to test beneath.

Benchmark	Xiaomi 15 Ultra	iPhone 16 Pro Max	Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra	Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Geekbench 6 Single	2,980	3,203	3,053	1,944
Geekbench 6 Multi	8,870	7,846	9,832	4,667
AnTuTu v10	25,19,481	15,87,059	21,23,303	10,67,971
PCMark Work 3.0	18,189	N/A	19,266	12,922
GFXB T-rex	120fps	59fps	120fps	120fps
GFXB Manhattan 3.1	306fps	59.7fps	115fps	105fps
GFXB Car Chas	120fps	59.4fps	94fps	55fps
3DM Slingshot Extreme OpenGL	Maxed Out	N/A	Failed to run	Failed to run
3DM Slingshot	Maxed Out	N/A	Failed to run	Failed to run
3DM Wild Life	Maxed Out	8,942	Maxed Out	8,902
3DM Wild Life Unlimited	Failed to run	N/A	23,683	9,294

Calling on the 15 Ultra was clear, and I confronted no points with 5G connectivity with Airtel and Jio networks. I like typing on the 15 Ultra because it packs a superb haptic motor that’s superb for typing, texting, and gaming.

The telephone options stereo audio system and comes with Dolby Atmos help. The setup is the standard one, with one on the backside firing down and one other constructed into the earpiece. The audio system are loud and adequate to fill a medium-sized room.

Moving to the software program aspect of issues, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra ships with Android 15-based HyperOS 2.0 out-of-the-box. Xiaomi guarantees 4 Android updates and 6 years of safety updates for the 15 Ultra, which is probably not as complete as what Samsung and Google provide for his or her units. But, preserving in thoughts the telephone change cycle, something above 3 years is nice help from the corporate aspect.

The new aerospace-grade glass fibre and PU leather-based again make an amazing rear design

 

The HyperOS 2 feels the identical as HyperOS 1, albeit with some neat additions for total optimisation and AI options. Now, you may test notifications and fast toggles on the management centre individually, like on iOS. You get loads of customisation choices on your residence display screen and lock display screen.

Then, there is a suite of Google options like Gemini Access and Circle to Search. For me, Circle to Search has been the good addition by Google currently and simply makes issues to look as a substitute of typing all of it. Xiaomi additionally bakes in loads of AI options, particularly AI writing, which offers proofreading and summarising your writing options; AI Gallery Editor, which presents picture enhancing instruments powered by AI; and AI speech recognition, which offers options like transcription and extra. There are extra options like Interpret Conversations with AI, AI Interpreter, and AI subtitles. It’s good to have a full-blown AI suite that can assist you be extra productive.

But, the AI options in HyperOS 2 nonetheless want refinement. The AI-powered post-processing picture enhancing instruments like Object Remover lack polish, and I ended up with not-so-great edits. The similar was true with some recorded conversations, and the speech recognition function virtually misplaced monitor of the recorded dialog and confirmed a random abstract. This is not only Xiaomi however virtually each different main OEM. Even Apple has didn’t nail its much-hyped Apple Intelligence options. I hope 2025 is when AI options get superior and do what they’re anticipated to do with extra finesse.

The rear design of the 15 Ultra makes it stand out within the crowd

 

Xiaomi 15 Ultra Battery: Exceeds Expectations

• 5410mAh Battery
• 90W HyperCharge
• Fully fees in lower than an hour

The battery division is one other one the place there’s a important incremental replace in comparison with the predecessor. The 15 Ultra packs a 5410mAh battery, which is far more than what we bought on the 14 Ultra (5000mAh).

In our inner video loop check, the 15 Ultra ended up with spectacular figures of over 20 hours of steady video playback, thus placing it among the many high units we examined in 2025 and late 2024. The telephone ships with a 90W adapter and is amongst a handful of units that also get a charger within the field. It can absolutely cost (from 0 to one hundred pc) inside an hour, however the machine will get heated up – a compromise you make to get extra charging speeds. It’s price noting that the machine comes with normal wired charging mode enabled by default, which normally means it’s going to take extra time to cost absolutely. For faster charging, you will need to go for “Top Speed.”

The telephone comes with 90W fast-charging help that may cost the telephone absolutely inside an hour

 

In real-world utilization, the bump in battery capability offers the Xiaomi 15 Ultra some edge over competitors units like Pixel 9 Pro XL and the like. With heavy utilization, which included important digital camera app utilization, the telephone lasted over a day, included an hour of gaming, calls lasting about an hour, looking, streaming, picture enhancing on the go, Instagram, X, and different work-related apps open within the background always. During the assessment, I bought over seven hours of screen-on time on the 15 Ultra, which is spectacular.

Overall, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra exceeded my expectations by way of battery output.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra Verdict

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a smart digital camera telephone that’s completed very, very properly and will probably be a strong contender in subsequent 12 months’s finest smartphone digital camera class at our NDTV Gadgets 360 Awards.

It is packed to the brim with options like Snapdragon 8 Elite that handles all efficiency wants effectively, a implausible digital camera setup tuned with legendary digital camera maker Leica, a big 5410mAh battery, 90W HyperCharge help, and rather more. The concept of promoting the Photography Kit Legend Edition individually is well-timed and will attraction to true Xiaomi followers and digital camera fans.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra can be an amazing machine for gaming and might deal with video games like BGMI, COD: Mobile at excessive graphics settings

 

The 15 Ultra is out there at Rs. 109,999 on Amazon, Mi.com and thru the corporate’s offline channel companions. The firm is operating some financial institution presents that may deliver down the worth of the smartphone to underneath a lakh, which makes it a candy deal. Of course, if you’re a professional and wish to add the Photography Kit Legend Edition, add one other Rs. 11,999. Overall, you get a strong smartphone digital camera constructed to final just a few years at round Rs. 1,21,998 minus any presents.

Compared to some rivals, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra (plus Photography Kit Legend Edition) prices lower than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Review), which is out there at Rs. 141,999 and that iPhone 16 Pro Max (Review) out there at as little as Rs. 137,900 on Amazon. There are some cheaper alternate options, just like the Vivo X200 Pro (Review), out there at Rs. 94,999, and the Find X8 Pro (Review), retailing at Rs. 99,999.