Xiaomi 15 Ultra assessment: ugly cellphone, stunning digicam

After two years telling anybody who’d hear that Chinese producer Vivo made one of the best cameras in any smartphone, final yr’s Xiaomi 14 Ultra modified my tune. It grew to become my favourite cellphone and digicam, dealing with every part from vacation snaps to product assessment photoshoots.

With the 15 Ultra, Xiaomi took one of the best and made it higher with a brand new 200-megapixel periscope lens to enrich the opposite (largely unchanged) cameras.

The draw back? The 14 Ultra was by no means a lot of a looker, and the 15 Ultra’s monumental, asymmetrical digicam module has taken a foul design and made it worse. I’m keen to place up with the awkward aesthetic when the digicam is that this good, however I’d be fairly understanding in the event you went the opposite means.

I haven’t talked about a lot about this cellphone’s specs but past the digicam. That’s intentional. Yes, it is a flagship cellphone by way of and thru, however yow will discover most of what it provides on different telephones for half the worth. If you’re keen to drop £1,299 / €1,499 (round $1,600) on the 15 Ultra, the digicam would be the motive why.

Much just like the 14 Ultra, Xiaomi’s new flagship has a quadruple rear digicam specified by a big, spherical module that dominates the design. Charitably, you could possibly say this evokes the traditional Leica aesthetic that Xiaomi can also be nodding to with this silver and black end, additional accentuated by the non-obligatory Photography Kit accent. Less charitably, you could possibly say it’s fairly ugly, not helped by a much less symmetrical lens format than final yr, including to the sense that Xiaomi is desperately attempting to cram the {hardware} in.

That format might be pressured by the brand new 4.3x periscope lens, which makes use of a 200-megapixel 1/1.4-inch-type sensor and a quick f/2.6 aperture. This is an improve on final yr’s in each respect besides the zoom distance, down barely from 5x, and the outcomes actually are spectacular.

On the 14 Ultra, I discovered myself attempting to make use of the three.2x telephoto as usually as doable, and this yr, the periscope had the identical charming impact on me. I maintain stepping again from topics to offer me the excuse to make use of it as a substitute of the primary lens, preferring its pure depth and bokeh in comparison with the flattening impact that any cellphone’s main lens tends to supply. In good lighting, you’ll get stunning, pure photographs at as much as 10x, with first rate outcomes at 30x. Beyond that — going all the way in which as much as 120x — some aggressive sharpening kicks in. I wouldn’t think about this something particular at excessive vary, however for mid-distance, it’s fairly good.

The different three lenses — all 50-megapixel — are not any slouches, both. The most important digicam makes use of the identical one-inch-type Sony LYT-900 sensor as final yr, however Xiaomi has ditched the variable aperture in favor of a set f/1.63 strategy. In principle, it makes this lens rather less versatile, however I don’t suppose a lot is misplaced in observe. Still, it’s an odd downgrade.

The common telephoto makes use of the identical spec as final yr’s equal however with 3x zoom somewhat than 3.2x. This was my favourite lens final yr, and I believe it’s nonetheless probably the most helpful right here. 3x is a extra sensible distance than 4.3x a lot of the time, and that is additionally the lens used robotically for macro photographs, permitting you to take close-ups with out really getting shut. The ultrawide and selfie lenses are probably the most forgettable: they’re good however unremarkable. It could be just a little unfair to name them afterthoughts, however they’re clearly not the place Xiaomi’s focus lies.

Beyond merely slapping an infinite periscope in, Xiaomi’s different focus has been enhancing pictures efficiency in low gentle. I run a meals e-newsletter on the aspect, so I spend lots of time attempting to {photograph} dishes in dimly lit eating places, precisely the place most telephones battle. I liked the 14 Ultra, partially as a result of it excels in these circumstances, even on its telephoto. And on the 15 Ultra, the identical is true, although I’m undecided this cellphone marks a big step ahead. The new periscope’s efficiency is spectacular, although: it’s a slight drop-off from the 3x lens, being barely extra prone to glare from shiny lights in darkish environment and requiring a steadier hand to get a crisp shot.

The largest criticism I might muster about this digicam is that it’s not that totally different from final yr’s. If you don’t personal the 14 Ultra, then that gained’t be a difficulty for you, however it could be one for Xiaomi. Competition at this finish of the market is intense, particularly in China, and I’m wondering if rivals like Vivo and Oppo are about to usurp the throne.

Get past the digicam, and the 15 Ultra nonetheless impresses, however it feels just like different flagships. The specs all sound acquainted: a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset with 16GB of RAM and as much as 1TB of storage; a big 6.73-inch 120Hz LTPO OLED show; an IP68 score with strengthened glass for the show. I don’t need to counsel any of that is unhealthy — it’s prime of the road. There are simply lots of different telephones crowding for house on the prime with it.

Battery life is nice. The 5,410mAh capability is beneficiant, and it took a journey day with a number of pictures and a few hours hotspotting my laptop computer earlier than I began to fret about it dying. 90W wired charging will prime it up rapidly, with 80W wi-fi speeds in the event you spend money on the official charger and considerably slower speeds on a regular Qi pad. Like virtually each different Android OEM, Xiaomi nonetheless hasn’t felt the necessity to spend money on Qi2.

The software program is the place you’ll discover downsides. HyperOS — Xiaomi’s Android pores and skin — runs on prime of Android 15 and shares annoyances in frequent with different takes on Android from Chinese OEMs. You’ll discover lots of Xiaomi-branded apps preinstalled, a couple of of which you’ll be able to’t take away, plus a smattering of different apps you may not need, like AliExpress.

Xiaomi eliminated a number of the OS’s customizability in its newest model. If there’s a strategy to have 5 apps on a homescreen row somewhat than 4, I haven’t discovered it, regardless of having precisely that enabled on my 14 Ultra. A couple of different duties simply really feel cumbersome and worsening — altering the wallpaper means forcing your means by way of a Themes app intent on promoting you new ringtones and naff graphics.

Almost all of this may be ignored. I’d in all probability say I desire HyperOS to Samsung’s Galaxy UI, however you’ll have to stay with rather less polish. The promise of 4 generations of Android OS updates and 6 years of safety assist additionally lags a couple of years behind Samsung and Google, although it’s nonetheless a good run.

The finest and worst issues concerning the 15 Ultra come all the way down to its digicam. I believe the one factor probably to place anybody off shopping for this cellphone — value apart — is that the lens module is a little bit of an eyesore. It’s the very first thing anybody I’ve seen up to now week has seen concerning the cellphone, and never in a great way.

But then you definitely begin utilizing the digicam, and also you get it. Yes, it’s ugly. But there was in all probability no different strategy to make it this rattling good.

Photography by Dominic Preston / The Verge