Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: Photography king

Last year’s Xiaomi 14 Ultra set a new standard for smartphone photography, offering stunning image quality, a huge range of camera-based features, and more. And, that was all while still delivering on the basics of what you would want from a high-end phone, like good performance and a stunning screen. Tough act to follow up on, right? The Xiaomi 15 Ultra attempts to do just that, retaining the Leica camera tuning, but upgrading on things like performance, display, and yes, camera.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra, however, has a whole new generation of competitors to beat. The new Galaxy S25 Ultra offers a great camera experience, and both the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max boast top-tier cameras too. Can the Xiaomi 15 Ultra do enough to take over as arguably the best smartphone camera out there?

Xiaomi 15 Ultra specs

Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: Design

The overall design of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is very similar to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra from last year, for better or for worse. It has a generally premium build quality and feels good in the, but it also has a gigantic camera module on the back that can make it feel a little unbalanced and obviously looks a little strange even in today’s modern era of large camera bumps. You’ll get used to the look and feel, though.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

The phone is protected with Xiaomi’s own so-called Shield Glass 2.0 and has an aluminum frame around the edges, which is a matte silver color. The phone has IP68 water resistance, which is pretty handy and means that it should be able to withstand full immersion in up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is available in three colorways, including black, white, and a silver chrome, which emulates classic camera looks. I think the silver chrome is the best-looking color option, but my review model is the white one. On the bottom of the phone can be found a USB-C port, while the power button and volume rocker are found on the right edge.

Again, the phone is generally premium, but if you’re looking for a redesign for the Xiaomi 15 series, you won’t get one.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra Photography Kit

Optionally, you can buy the Xiaomi 15 Ultra with the photography kit accessory, which I had a lot of fun playing around with. The kit includes a case and a camera grip that to the USB-C port on the bottom of the phone and has a two-stage capture button, a dial for exposure, and a dedicated video recording button. The kit also comes with a 67mm filter adapter ring.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

The grip also has a battery built right into it. It’s a 2,000mAh battery that can juice up your phone as needed — and it’s a neat way to take full advantage of the size of the grip.

Again, it’s a neat accessory, and if you want to make your phone feel as much like a camera as possible, it’s worth buying.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: Display

While the main focus of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is obviously photography, that doesn’t mean that the phone skimps out on other things. The display on the phone, for example, is absolutely stunning. It’s a 6.73-inch display with a 3200 x 1440 resolution, making for an incredibly crisp and detailed image. It’s an LTPO AMOLED display, which means that it can range from 1Hz to 120Hz depending on what’s on the screen. It has a peak brightness of 3200 nits, which is very bright. Frankly, even in bright outdoor environments, you shouldn’t expect to not be able to see what’s on the screen.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

Seriously, this is one of the best displays in the phone world right now. It supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision too, so HDR movies look stunning, and HDR photos and videos that you capture will look lifelike, with plenty of contrast.

Under the display can be found an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. I found that it worked quickly and accurately. It almost never failed in my usage, and it felt very responsive.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: Performance

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra makes use of Qualcomm’s latest and greatest smartphone chip, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite. That’s coupled with 16GB of RAM, and frankly, these two things come together to produce a phone that will easily handle anything you can throw at it in 2025. Of course, at this point, there are a number of Snapdragon 8 Elite-equipped phones on the market, including the new Galaxy S25 series. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra doesn’t necessarily perform better than those phones, but it is about on par, which is very good news.

All of this means that games will load quickly, the phone will easily handle even heavy multitasking, and so on. Frankly, these days a high level of performance comes into play more towards the end of a phone’s life cycle than at the beginning. Regardless, it’s good to see Xiaomi giving the phone the best performance it can right now.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is also one of the first smartphones to feature Bluetooth 6.0. The new standard promises better power efficiency, lower latency, and improved range for wireless accessories. In theory, this should result in a more stable connection for Bluetooth headphones and other peripherals. Bluetooth 6.0 also introduces the new so-called Channel Sounding feature, which allows devices that support the feature to better judge distance based on their Bluetooth connection. However, it’s unclear what specific new Bluetooth features Xiaomi has implemented here, so users may not notice a dramatic difference in day-to-day use just yet.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: Battery and charging

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is packed with a sizable 5,410mAh battery, ensuring excellent longevity. Battery life is one of the phone’s strongest features, easily lasting through a full day and well into the second. Moderate users can comfortably stretch usage to two days, while heavier users may still want to top up overnight just to be safe.

Charging is equally impressive. The phone supports blazing-fast 90W wired charging, capable of fully charging the battery in under 40 minutes. Wireless charging is no slouch either, with support for 80W speeds—provided you have a compatible charger. Xiaomi has also included 10W reverse wireless charging, which is great for topping up accessories like wireless earbuds. The only downside? No Qi2 support, which means some third-party wireless charging accessories might not work as efficiently.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: Camera

Xiaomi has made notable improvements to its camera modes, making this one of the most capable smartphone photography systems yet. Portrait mode now utilizes larger apertures across all focal lengths, delivering natural-looking bokeh without the need for artificial software enhancements. Master Portrait and Leica Portrait modes, in particular, offer a striking level of realism, making subject separation feel refined and professional.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

The camera is the star of the show, and Xiaomi has partnered with Leica once again to deliver a stunning photography experience. The quad-camera setup is versatile and powerful, led by a 50-megapixel 1-inch main sensor that supports multiple focal length equivalents, including 23mm, 28mm, and 35mm, giving users more creative flexibility.

The phone also features a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera features a 115-degree field of view. For zoom, Xiaomi has gone all out too. The 50-megapixel telephoto camera has a 70mm focal length equivalent, translating to approximately 3x optical zoom. Meanwhile, the 200-megapixel periscope telephoto camera offers 100mm and 200mm focal length equivalents, providing 5x and 10x optical zoom, respectively.

Image quality is excellent across the board. AI editing features are present, allowing users to remove objects, enhance details, and apply automatic adjustments. While these tools work well, they don’t necessarily break new ground compared to what competitors offer. Still, it’s nice that they’re there.

In well-lit environments, photos are incredibly sharp, with natural colors and strong dynamic range. Low-light performance is also impressive, with minimal noise and great detail retention. In well-lit environments, photos are incredibly sharp, with natural colors and strong dynamic range. Low-light performance is also impressive, with minimal noise and great detail retention. The only notable flaw is some inconsistency in color tones between lenses. At times, highlights can appear slightly blown out, particularly when switching between different focal lengths. This issue isn’t always present, but it happens more often than I would have liked. It certainly wasn’t a deal-breaker, but it does mean that users may need to tweak images in post-processing to achieve a more uniform look. Still, despite this minor drawback, the overall image quality remains exceptional. All it really means is that while at times, the photos won’t turn out very well, the rest of the time, photos will be as good as or better than the best smartphone cameras out there.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: Software

If there’s one weak point of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, it’s the software. Xiaomi’s HyperOS 2.0 is functional, but its overall design looks a little dated compared to other Android skins. The interface isn’t difficult to navigate, but it lacks the refined polish seen in competitors like Google’s Pixel UI.

Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

HyperOS 2.0 introduces some AI-powered features, such as writing assistance and real-time translation. While useful in certain scenarios, these features aren’t anything groundbreaking and can already be found on other devices. They seemed to work perfectly fine while I was using them, but whether here or on other phones I haven’t necessarily found them to be the most useful features. You may have a different view though.

That said, there are some positives. The control center takes clear inspiration from iOS, and in this case, that’s a good thing—it’s clean, organized, and easy to use. While HyperOS 2.0 isn’t the most minimalistic Android skin, it functions as expected and won’t require much of a learning curve for Android users.

Conclusions

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is an ambitious flagship that delivers on almost every front. It boasts top-tier performance, a stunning display, and a great battery life — coupled with one of the best camera systems out there right now. While the software experience still feels a bit dated, and the camera consistency could use some refinement, these are minor complaints in the grand scheme of things. If you’re looking for a powerhouse Android phone that pushes boundaries, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is an excellent choice. Of course, if you want it, you’ll have to live in a location where it’s available, and it’s not coming to the U.S. But, if you live in one of those regions, it’s easily worth considering.

The competition

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra competes directly with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Honor Magic 7 Pro, among others.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra remains a powerhouse, with its S Pen integration and refined One UI experience. While Samsung’s camera system is excellent, Xiaomi’s larger 1-inch sensor and Leica tuning give it a slight edge in photography. That said, Samsung’s software and long-term update support are stronger, making it a more future-proof option for some users, plus the camera is still a lot more consistent. 

The Honor Magic 7 Pro is another strong competitor, offering a sleek design and a focus on AI-driven photography enhancements. While its camera system is impressive, it doesn’t quite match the versatility of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s quad-camera setup.

Ultimately, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra stands out with its advanced hardware and photography-focused features. If you value raw camera power and fast charging, it’s an excellent choice—provided you can get your hands on one in a supported region.

Should I buy the Xiaomi 15 Ultra?

Yes, if it’s available in your region.