Xiaomi 15 Ultra review

02 March 2025


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fro0st, 02 Mar 2025I guess we'll have to wait for the kings of the year t... moreThe king of the year*

The X8 Ultra is gonna be more of a princess than a King or even a Queen.

Here's how it's gonna go :

The X200 Ultra will be the undisputed king. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra will be the darling queen for enthusiasts and the Find X8 Ultra will be the third option, the princess who's just there and a solid option but not the greatest.

That's exactly how it was with the Find X7 Ultra and that's how it's gonna be this year too, considering how they're foregoing their beautiful processing for a more artificial one.

The Find X6 Pro was a fluke, a perfect amalgamation of everything, processing + hardware + timing. It just was THE best cameraphone that year. By the time the Find X7 Ultra came Xiaomi and Vivo had improved a LOT and closed the gap.

    Inedian, 02 Mar 2025Excellent phone, excellent camera, better camera than X200 ... morebetween these two, and if you're more into RAW photography/LOG recording than just point and shoot, i'd say xiaomi. But if you're more of a point and shooter and you don't like editing shots and prefer more "balanced"/"perfect" shots, easily the Vivo. Vivo's a winner for selfie too, a great selfie cam on that one.

    However, realistically speaking, I'd say you should wait for the X200 Ultra if you're deciding between these two. If you're open to buying a China only phone anyways then go for the X200 Ultra. That phone would likely be better for 90% of people. It's just that I like the additional tools and the different vibe that Xiaomi phones have. Not to mention their class leading speaker system which im sure Vivo will fumble.

    Hope it helps!

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      • Inedian
      • L2r
      • 02 Mar 2025

      jiyen235, 02 Mar 2025what is being compared in the first and second shots? The 1... moreExcellent phone, excellent camera, better camera than X200 Pro, but i think i still prefer camera on X100 Ultra.

      Which would you prefer as a cameraphone, Vivo X100 Ultra or Xiaomi 15 Ultra?

        Wesker, 02 Mar 2025Funny you mentioned ads. It was never about that. This is a... moreCall me biased or whatever, I'm far from a fan of HyperOS (btw, they dropped the 'Mi' moniker with the 12 series in case you didn't know that). I know very well it's not amongst the best out there. But it's also nowhere near as bad as it was, ESPECIALLY on flagships. If it doesn't aesthetically look good to you, that's fine, that is a matter or preference, and I also much prefer ColorOS or OneUI or FuntouchOS, aesthetically speaking.

        And I have to ask, have you had a Xiaomi smartphone as your daily driver to have a good idea on how the experience with HyperOS is or are you just saying what everyone is saying and following the pack?

          fro0st, 02 Mar 2025They wasted the HP9 sensor, by giving the tele macro capabi... moreI guess we'll have to wait for the kings of the year to arrive next month, FX8U and X200U.

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            • Cake
            • mGu
            • 02 Mar 2025

            As always, Xiaomi has shit on their global pricing. 🤦

            The 512 15 Ultra costs €927 in China

              xslvrxslwt, 02 Mar 2025> Xiaomi's gonna have better bug fixes and better o... moreI said better than the Redmi Note/Poco phones. You can't deny the fact that Xiaomi has better software for its Ultra than their midrangers. I was just pointing that fact out.

              Oppo/Oneplus still have the best android OS and Vivo's OriginOS is a close second, that's how i feel about stuff but im never going to knock on xiaomi for poor software as i dont really care about software. I've always been more about the hardware and what I have NOW and what i can do with the product, it's what i used to love about samsung phones in the past and now chinese phones have my interest due to that exact reason. They're just simply better.

              Forgive me for speaking facts and being objectively correct, i don't really see how im a paid bot/fanboy when i have only 2 xiaomi phones in my favorite page and both are 5 year old. I used to vehemently fight against xiaomi fanboys till today cus of the battery life AND the software, now that one's fixed, the other doesn't hurt as much. And it's not like people really care, they're fine with Apple/Google/Samsung bugs and call em perfect so does it really matter? Think about that.

              I'm not ever going to shill for companies, im only going to point out absolutes and the Xiaomi is absolutely the best pro-photographer cameraphone in the market whereas the Vivo X200 ultra is going to be the best cameraphone on the market. Mark my words, that's how it's been for 2 years and this trend will continue. Xiaomi has more pro features whereas Vivo is more reliable, consistent, pleasing in terms of "balance" and just nicer to look at for "the average person".

              I don't choose companies, i choose products as companies don't see me as an individual, just as another dollar sign. So why should i really care about companies in general? Admittedly even after having a thought process like this i still have a soft spot for Vivo and forgive most of their issues but i hope you understand why i think the way i think now and it clears up what i think about these phones better.

                Wow that battery life improvement is substantial even with just a 5400mah battery, it somehow surpasesses the x200 pro? Well done xiaomi.

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                  • Anonymous
                  • 0p}
                  • 02 Mar 2025

                  Darth Caesium, 02 Mar 2025They should've just used a 96mm focal length (assuming... moreEven if photos had the true FL, still space taken by the system would be same.
                  System to allow variable aperture increases space used.
                  Obviously, xiaomi had to sacrifice this in order to provide huge module with hp9.

                  Unless brands start to make phones larger ( like 17.2cm height x 8.2 cm width) , there are physical limitations of what can be done.

                  Cam system is not entirely within cam bump.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • E5h
                    • 02 Mar 2025

                    Anonymous, 02 Mar 2025It is ridiculous to complain about not having IP69 when it ... moreAnd aside from Apple (they claim IP68 because they didn't test for water jets, but depth wise it is same as IP69) and OnePlus nobody uses anything above standard IP68.

                    Honestly we should be happy there is IP68, enough phones that lacked that in the past, even expensive models.

                      jiyen235, 02 Mar 2025what is being compared in the first and second shots? The 1... moreim not reading alldat, there are 3 more similar scenarios where ximeme fails even worse than the 3rd pic.

                        David 040882, 02 Mar 2025Xiaomi's flagships do not have ads as their entry-leve... moreFunny you mentioned ads. It was never about that. This is a matter of overall aesthetics or rather the lack of. This is the most soul-less generic soup of an OS I've ever seen.

                        It's trying so hard to be something it's not, kinda sad really.
                        And cheap too.

                        Of course you’d be nitpicking hard to complain about such things on a $100 entry level smartphone. But on a thousand dollar flagship ? Boy I’d be offended.

                        But as a Mi12 owner yourself I guess you must be biased ?

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • E5h
                          • 02 Mar 2025

                          So it overheats in games again

                          Why, the cooling is there so why Xiaomi.

                          A fine phone for the rest

                            xslvrxslwt, 02 Mar 2025https://ibb.co/album/y0t9DQ there's a few more but ... morewhat is being compared in the first and second shots? The 14 ultra against the Find X7 Ultra? If yes then keep in mind that the 15 ultra has a more aggressive NR pass and so noise is non-existent at the cost of details, just like Oppo.

                            And where did you get the 3rd shot from? Anyways, I must admit, the Xiaomi doesn't look all that great here in isolation but what also must be considered is the mode. Firstly, Is it shot in Leica Authentic or Leica Vibrant? Secondly, why is the 3x of the xiaomi being compared to the 3.7x behemoth of the Vivo? Thirdly, the Xiaomi is going to have better processing with less artifacts/digital-ness compared to Vivo as well, it's just how it is with Xiaomi since the 13 Ultra from what I've seen.

                            So yeah, it's all personal preference anyways but in absolute objective terms Xiaomi wins as you can just get an UltraRAW and easily lower the highlights on the Xiaomi but you can't bring the proper tone of the shot as easily as you can with the Xiaomi on the Vivo. I'm a Vivo fanboy but I always admit where some company wins.

                            Vivo's the GOAT of HDR/"perfect processing", they perfectly balance the dxomark-esque "perfect shot" that Google/Apple/Samsung want to produce with the soul of normal cameras still somewhat intact. Yet Xiaomi just has MORE soul, it's less phone and more camera whereas the Vivo X200 Pro is the perfect phone camera. Oh btw, till now the X200 Pro's stabilization sucked and that's an immense con. The X200 Pro is also far too artificial for me. The X100 Ultra struck the perfect balance. Imo the X200 Pro is a downgrade in every camera-centric way but due to the price, global availability and improvements in every other department, i consider it a better phone than the X100 Ultra.

                            So yeah, again, the X200 Ultra will be the proper competitor to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. It'll have more soul than the X200 Pro, like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has more soul than the Xiaomi 15. Just you wait. After the X200 Ultra comes the X200 Pro will seem antiquated and if you like super processed stuff you're still going to prefer the Pro but if you like nicer photos that look good despite having flaws/photos that just embrace their flaws then the Ultra will be more your cup of tea.

                            Anyways, all that does not matter much as the X200 Ultra won't go global whereas this phone is global. And for a cheaper price the X200 Pro is easily the better deal compared to the 15 Ultra, but it's not the better cameraphone. The only place the Vivo easily wins is in consistency, it's outrageously good on Vivo now and mediocre on Xiaomi still. But that's it, photography, videography AND pro features are all significantly better on Xiaomi. Xiaomi's log can both be pushed farther and also be edited more easily in a different mode, the master cinema mode, there's just a huge number of tools at your disposal.

                              Wait, no AF on the selfie camera in a $1.5k phone?!?!

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                                • Anonymous
                                • 0p}
                                • 02 Mar 2025

                                It is ridiculous to complain about not having IP69 when it is useless for cellphones. That is protection against high pressure water jets.
                                Person is not gonna clean phone with those machines used to clean tiles.

                                  They wasted the HP9 sensor, by giving the tele macro capabilities to smaller sensor, what a shame.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • uum
                                    • 02 Mar 2025

                                    Waiting

                                      jiyen235, 02 Mar 2025Even if it's the same basic OS. Xiaomi's gonna ha... more> Xiaomi's gonna have better bug fixes and better optimisation for the Ultra

                                      Lmao. The phone with the most-late updates of all the ultras was 14 Ultra. This guy is either paid or a fanbot.

                                      Literally if you search "14 ultra software updates" you'll see people selling it purely due to lack of them.

                                        Wesker, 02 Mar 2025I wonder if my fellow car enthusiasts noticed that they use... moreEven if it's the same basic OS. Xiaomi's gonna have better bug fixes and better optimisation for the Ultra. Samsung does the same. They nuke the lower range phones but since the name is the same people think it's as good as the top ones.

                                        Besides, for a cameraphone that's global AND has a feature set this big? The OS is a worthy sacrifice. Not to mention the better than Samsung battery life that won't get nuked with updates alongside the class leading speakers. I don't really see what the problem is here because if the product im using does its job well i dont care about its looks/its presentation. Yeah you'd want that for this price but if it does something no one else can i don't think there's much room for complaint.

                                        Besides if they fix everything now how'll they sell you in the future? LOL, companies are always gonna want to protect their back end.

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