The 15 Ultra, Xiaomi’s third-generation camera-focused smartphone, is a strong contender in the segment that appeals to camera enthusiasts in India. Premium smartphone consumers are spoilt for choice today, especially if there’s an inclination to get a phone that nails smartphone photography. In the long list of phones available today, including the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Xiaomi 15, there are other options like Vivo X200 Pro, Vivo X200, Oppo Find X8, and Oppo Find X8 Pro.
If anyone had asked me about which camera-focused phone to buy almost five years ago, I would have recommended the iPhone or Samsung’s top-tier models to users. But that is no longer the case. That means the segment is expanding and is a win-win situation for consumers.
The new Xiaomi 15 Ultra continues the good work achieved by its predecessor – Xiaomi 14 Ultra – by being a very effective evolution (and if we take Xiaomi 13 Pro also into consideration). Xiaomi has done a great job by sticking to the winning formula and making sure there’s the Leica branding on it. That’s more than a winning badge of honour for a category focused on photography, and having the legendary camera maker logo is more than just reassuring.
So, if you are out in the market and want to buy a camera flagship smartphone, should you pick the Xiaomi 15 Ultra? Let me answer that in my review.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra Design: Mimics Classic Leica Camera
- It comes in a single Silver Chrome colour
- It weighs 229 grams and is on the heavier side
- The 15 Ultra measures 9.48mm thick
You don’t need to be an expert to tell that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is aimed at camera enthusiasts. Iconic looks and legendary Leica rangefinder camera series-inspired aesthetics are on point, making the 15 Ultra stand out in the market. The rear sports an aerospace-grade glass fibre and PU leather combination, offering a premium and classic look. The unibody frame of the 15 Ultra feels solid and gives an excellent in-hand feel.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra (on the left) and Xiaomi 15 Ultra (on the right)
For someone who may be picking a camera-focused smartphone, the camera deco at the back of the 15 Ultra could be too much. The four cameras fit into a large circular camera module. At 229 grams, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is on the heavier side, and it took me a few days to get familiar with the device and start using it more with just one hand. The aesthetics are excellent, and thanks to the rear design (PU leather + glass fibre combination), it works well for a one-hand grip.
For enhanced protection from accidental drops and daily wear and tear, Xiaomi has gone a notch above for the 15 Ultra and used the Xiaomi Guardian Structure, which utilises an aluminium frame, Corning Gorilla Glass 7i for the camera deco, and the Xiaomi Shield Glass 2.0 on the front.
Rear design comparison: Xiaomi 14 Ultra (on the left) and Xiaomi 15 Ultra (on the right)
The quad-curved display adds to the character of the device, and thin bezels make it ideal for multimedia consumption. The phone also gets an IP68 rating for dust and water ingress protection. While many users may start nitpicking Xiaomi for not adding an IP69 rating to the Ultra, I don’t see any point in this unless you really like to use your phone around water jets. Yes, it’s good to have on your spec sheet, but I don’t think you are missing a lot. Xiaomi 15 Ultra also switches to an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner from the optical we got on its predecessor.
One thing I absolutely love about the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is its attention to detail. The addition of the Ultra hallmark at the back (top left) adds to the appeal and makes the design impeccable for a camera enthusiast.
Overall, the 15 Ultra is the purest camera phone for enthusiasts.
Photography Kit Legend Edition – How can we talk about the design and not bring up the exclusive Photography Kit for the 15 Ultra? The camera-inspired accessory adds more firepower to the already powerful Xiaomi 15 Ultra. The kit includes a detachable shutter button and thumb support, along with a 2000mAh battery pack that offers more juice while you’re busy snapping photos or videos. The kit also includes a grip case that enhances the overall look and feel of the phone. Then, there’s a customisation dial for adjusting EV, shutter, ISO and white balance, the zoom lever adds a new dimension to the overall zooming experience. The nice touch is a quick video button that instantly starts video recording and lets you customise aspect ratio, auto exposure, and more. The kit also enables a customisable UI style Fastshot mode for quick shots, and the entire package is IP54 rated (including the battery pack). While the kit definitely adds value to the entire proposition, I can’t deny that it makes the whole package kind of cool and makes the phone a head-turner in every way.
The phone comes in a Silver Chrome colour option and weighs 229 grams
Long story short, if you’re someone who really wants to unlock the beast photography mode on your 15 Ultra, then go for the kit.
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 protection
The 15 Ultra retains the display from its predecessor, and it is among the best we have seen on a Xiaomi device yet. There’s one big addition, and that’s for peak brightness. From 14 Ultra’s 3000nits peak brightness, Xiaomi has bumped 15 Ultra to 3200nits. In real-world usage, you may not be able to tell the difference, but having a higher number for brightness is good. This helps Xiaomi beat most of the competition in the market, 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 features a 6.73-inch LTPO display with a 1440×3200 pixels screen resolution
The display also features an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate that can go down to as low as 1Hz. The phone gets the rest of the bells and whistles one expects from a flagship-grade Android smartphone, including HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support. It also supports Widevine L1 so you can watch HDR content on popular OTT apps.
The 6.73-inch OLED display of the 15 Ultra serves as an excellent multimedia screen for your gaming, binge watching or Internet browsing. It also gets 1920Hz PWM dimming, DC dimming, and wet touch tech, which comes in handy while using the phone with sweaty hands. Apart from all these, the 15 Ultra also gets TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light and similar certifications to make your bedtime reading on your phone convenient. Overall, the 15 Ultra sports a brilliant display; you won’t be left demanding more.
The biggest highlight of the display is it supports 3200nits peak brightness
Xiaomi 15 Ultra Cameras: The Company’s North Star
- 50-megapixel Leica 23mm primary camera (1-inch LYT-900 image sensor)
- 200-megapixel ultra Leica telephoto with 100mm equivalent focal length
- 50-megapixel 70mm Leica floating telephoto
- 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera with 115-degree field of view
- 32-megapixel in-display selfie camera
The 14 Ultra was a solid phone for photography last year, so the biggest doubt I had about the 15 Ultra was how it would surpass its predecessor. There are some additions to the 15 Ultra, like the new 200-megapixel telephoto sensor, that add muscle to the overall package, and mind you, none of the competitor devices have that sort of capability. You get 0.6x, 1x, 2x, 3x, and 4.3x zoom options on the camera app. However, there is one little downgrade: omitting the variable aperture on the 15 Ultra, but that isn’t a deal-breaker by any means.
So, let’s jump to the camera samples, starting with daylight SAMPLES. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra can click brilliant daylight photos with plenty of detail, accurate exposure and a wide dynamic range. The colour science of Leica is evident in the results and is simply too good for smartphone photography enthusiasts. The colours are natural and appear crisp. The skin tones are natural, too, and there’s barely noise in daylight photos.
The company is selling the Photography Kit Legend Edition separately for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra
Switching between 1x and 2x doesn’t spoil photo quality – an impressive feat. The samples captured using the 2x lens are equally remarkable.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra daylight camera samples (tap images to expand)
The portrait mode is a kind of USP of the Xiaomi Ultra devices, and 15 Ultra nails it. Portraits with people come out well, and depth estimation, subject isolation and natural blur are effortless.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra portrait camera sample (tap image to expand)
When it comes to zoom performance, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will surely be among the top phones this year. I managed to click a ship in the ocean that was barely visible on the phone camera at 0.6x with the help of the long-range tele camera. When premium phones like the iPhone lost track of the subject beyond 25x zoom, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra impressed me with its strong zoom credentials. If you’re someone who clicks many zoom photos, just grab this one. The 3x zoom photos come out well with amazing colours, dynamic range, low noise, and details. The 4.3x telephoto is even better for portraits and gives you enough room to fit your subject in the frame. The results are below, and I was blown away by what the 15 Ultra can achieve with this terrific combination.
A ship in the ocean appears like a dot in 0.6x (tap image to expand)
The ship is visible with the name being readable, showing the 15 Ultra’s zooming capability
Xiaomi 15 Ultra zoom samples (tap images to expand)
The phone is also capable when it comes to close-up photos, and a 3x telephoto lens is used for that. Excellent close-up pictures with enough details and natural-looking shots with accurate colours.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra is also a capable smartphone for close-up shots (tap images to expand)
In this entire ensemble, the ultrawide camera on the 15 Ultra is the only one that could have been slightly better. Mind you, it is not a letdown and can reproduce some pleasant photos with excellent dynamic range. It’s just that when you compare ultrawide with the main camera, it slightly lacks overall quality.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra ultrawide samples (tap images to expand)
Of course, there are Leica photographic styles – Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant – to spice up your portraits and take the upper hand on social media platforms.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra low-light samples (tap images to expand)
This is where it gets really interesting. The night photography on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is fantastic. The phone is capable of capturing high levels of detail in low-light situations. During my testing, the 15 Ultra mostly maintained highlights, sharpness, shadows, and details and kept noise in check in low-light conditions. The phone was also capable of keeping fine textures in check.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra selfie sample (tap image to expand)
If there’s one department where I could really ask the Xiaomi team to improve in the camera department, it has to be a selfie shooter. It’s not bad, but it’s not remarkable too. For a phone made for smartphone photography enthusiasts, you expect more from every camera sensor. The front camera is capable during the daytime with no major issues with details, but in the low-light scenarios, it gets a bit unpredictable.
Of course, the camera phone is also built for videos. It supports 4K 60fps log video recording across all focal lengths and 4K 120fps cinematic slow motion video recording with both the main and periscope telephoto cameras. The video quality is top-notch, but how much would a content creator want to bring it into their daily workflow will depend on the ecosystem of devices for quicker video editing.
Overall, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will be the camera smartphone to beat in 2025, and I’m guessing competition, including the likes of Oppo and Vivo, are already working on new Ultras. The 14 Ultra is already a capable smartphone for photography, but with the 15 Ultra, it’s been pushed to the extreme with two tele cameras. It’s the ultimate point-and-shoot smartphone for enthusiasts. If you want to raise the stakes, spend some more and grab the Photography Kit Legend Edition for the 15 Ultra that takes you to another level.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra Performance: Boringly Brilliant
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform
- 16GB + 512GB (single variant)
- HyperOS 2.0 based on Android 15
- 4 years of software support and 6 years of security updates promised
Xiaomi 15 Ultra is among a handful of devices launched this year with Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite platform. In everyday usage, there’s barely anything that this phone can’t handle, be it multitasking, streaming videos, photo editing on the go, video editing, gaming or anything else you can think of. For context, I tested the phone with almost 32 apps open in the background, and even when jumping between them, it didn’t stutter – absolutely top-tier performance – as expected.
The phone ships in a single RAM and ROM variant in India – 16GB and 512GB storage. However, Xiaomi sent me a 1TB variant, only available in China, for review. Talking about specifics, the 15 Ultra gets LPDDR5X and UFS 4.1 storage.
In India, the phone is available in single RAM and storage trim – 16GB + 512GB
Talking about biometrics, the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is quick compared to the one we saw on the 14 Ultra. There’s also face unlock, which works well, but I preferred the fingerprint sensor during the review for daily use. For people who love gaming, there’s a 3D Dual-Channel IceLoop system which helps cool down the phone. In my time with the device, I noticed that the 15 Ultra did heat up while running Google Maps for continuously 45 minutes or more, gaming for more than 40 minutes, and even while camera use for more than 25 minutes. But, it never became too challenging to handle, and of course, the cooling system kicked in quickly.
I tested the Xiaomi 15 Ultra with a suite of benchmarking apps, and as expected, the phone shines with impressive scores, which you can check below.
| 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 faced no issues with 5G connectivity with Airtel and Jio networks. I love typing on the 15 Ultra as it packs an excellent haptic motor that is amazing for typing, texting, and gaming.
The phone features stereo speakers and comes with Dolby Atmos support. The setup is the usual one, with one at the bottom firing down and another built into the earpiece. The speakers are loud and sufficient to fill a medium-sized room.
Moving to the software side of things, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra ships with Android 15-based HyperOS 2.0 out-of-the-box. Xiaomi promises 4 Android updates and 6 years of security updates for the 15 Ultra, which may not be as comprehensive as what Samsung and Google offer for their devices. But, keeping in mind the phone change cycle, anything above 3 years is good support from the company side.
The new aerospace-grade glass fibre and PU leather back make a great rear design
The HyperOS 2 feels the same as HyperOS 1, albeit with some neat additions for overall optimisation and AI features. Now, you can check notifications and quick toggles on the control centre separately, like on iOS. You get plenty of customisation options for your home screen and lock screen.
Then, there’s a suite of Google features like Gemini Access and Circle to Search. For me, Circle to Search has been the coolest addition by Google lately and just makes things to search instead of typing it all. Xiaomi also bakes in plenty of AI features, namely AI writing, which provides proofreading and summarising your writing features; AI Gallery Editor, which offers image editing tools powered by AI; and AI speech recognition, which provides features like transcription and more. There are more features like Interpret Conversations with AI, AI Interpreter, and AI subtitles. It’s good to have a full-blown AI suite to help you be more productive.
But, the AI features in HyperOS 2 still need refinement. The AI-powered post-processing image editing tools like Object Remover lack polish, and I ended up with not-so-great edits. The same was true with some recorded conversations, and the speech recognition feature almost lost track of the recorded conversation and showed a random summary. This is not just Xiaomi but practically every other major OEM. Even Apple has failed to nail its much-hyped Apple Intelligence features. I hope 2025 is when AI features get advanced and do what they are expected to do with more finesse.
The rear design of the 15 Ultra makes it stand out in the crowd
Xiaomi 15 Ultra Battery: Exceeds Expectations
- 5410mAh Battery
- 90W HyperCharge
- Fully charges in less than an hour
The battery department is another one where there is a significant incremental update compared to the predecessor. The 15 Ultra packs a 5410mAh battery, which is way more than what we got on the 14 Ultra (5000mAh).
In our internal video loop test, the 15 Ultra ended up with impressive figures of over 20 hours of continuous video playback, thus putting it among the top devices we tested in 2025 and late 2024. The phone ships with a 90W adapter and is among a handful of devices that still get a charger in the box. It can fully charge (from 0 to 100 percent) within an hour, but the device gets heated up – a compromise you make to get additional charging speeds. It’s worth noting that the device comes with standard wired charging mode enabled by default, which usually means it will take more time to charge fully. For quicker charging, you must opt for “Top Speed.”
The phone comes with 90W fast-charging support that can charge the phone fully within an hour
In real-world usage, the bump in battery capacity gives the Xiaomi 15 Ultra some edge over competition devices like Pixel 9 Pro XL and the like. With heavy usage, which included significant camera app usage, the phone lasted over a day, included an hour of gaming, calls lasting about an hour, browsing, streaming, image editing on the go, Instagram, X, and other work-related apps open in the background at all times. During the review, I got over seven hours of screen-on time on the 15 Ultra, which is impressive.
Overall, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra exceeded my expectations in terms of battery output.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra Verdict
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a sensible camera phone that is done very, very well and will be a solid contender in next year’s best smartphone camera category at our NDTV Gadgets 360 Awards.
It is packed to the brim with features like Snapdragon 8 Elite that handles all performance needs efficiently, a fantastic camera setup tuned with legendary camera maker Leica, a large 5410mAh battery, 90W HyperCharge support, and much more. The idea of selling the Photography Kit Legend Edition separately is well-timed and should appeal to true Xiaomi fans and camera enthusiasts.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra is also a great device for gaming and can handle games like BGMI, COD: Mobile at high graphics settings
The 15 Ultra is available at Rs. 109,999 on Amazon, Mi.com and through the company’s offline channel partners. The company is running some bank offers that can bring down the price of the smartphone to under a lakh, which makes it a sweet deal. Of course, if you are a pro and want to add the Photography Kit Legend Edition, add another Rs. 11,999. Overall, you get a solid smartphone camera built to last a few years at around Rs. 1,21,998 minus any offers.
Compared to some rivals, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra (plus Photography Kit Legend Edition) costs less than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Review), which is available at Rs. 141,999 and iPhone 16 Pro Max (Review) available at as low as Rs. 137,900 on Amazon. There are some cheaper alternatives, like the Vivo X200 Pro (Review), available at Rs. 94,999, and the Find X8 Pro (Review), retailing at Rs. 99,999.
