The Xiaomi 15 Ultra flagship phone is here, and from the very first glance, it's clear that this one is a spectacular camera phone. If we talk about the Silver Chrome model, in particular, it even resembles a classic Leica camera with a dual-tone design and even a small viewfinder like doodad at the back.
Xiaomi even sells a matching camera kit that essentially turns your phone into a point-and-shoot camera, with all the bells and whistles that a dedicated shutterbug would enjoy.
But what's the hardware on board? What makes the Xiaomi 15 Ultra an impressive camera aside from the neat design language?
First things first, let's compare the camera specs between Xiaomi's new flagship and Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra phone, which is currently sitting at the top of our Camera Score test.
Main camera 200MP F1.7 24mm PDAF, Laser, OIS Samsung ISOCELL HP2 Sensor size: 1/1.3" 0.6µm New ProVisual Engine
Telephoto camera
50MP F1.8 70mm (3.0X optical zoom)
OIS
Sony IMX858
Telemacro photography
Telephoto camera 10MP F2.4 67mm (3.0X optical zoom) OIS, PDAF Sony IMX754 Sensor size: 1/3.52" 1.12µm
Periscope
200MP F2.6 100mm (4.3X optical zoom)
OIS
HP9
2.24µm pixels
Periscope
50MP F3.4 111mm (5.0X optical zoom)
OIS, PDAF
Sony IMX854
Sensor size: 1/2.52", 0.7µm
Ultrawide camera
50MP F2.2 14mm (23º FOV)
ISOCELL JN5 sensor
1.28µm pixels
Ultrawide camera 50MP, F1.9, 13mm, 120º FoV ISOCELL S5KJN3
Front-facing camera
32MP F2.0 21mm (90º FOV)
HDR, Portrait mode
Front-facing camera 12MP F2.2 HDR, Portrait mode
And then we move on to the rather imposing camera island, which towers above the rest of the backplate, and can be even called camera "volcano". It houses the impressive quad-camera setup of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, helmed by an impressive 1-inch sensor. This allows the Xiaomi 15 Ultra to join an exclusive club of devices that feature such a large sensor, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra isn't among them.
Next up, we have a rather appealing high-res 200MP periscope camera, which has a mere 4.3X native zoom, but thanks to the high resolution of the sensor, cropping in delivers optically excellent results. The phone supports up to 120X digital zoom, and surprisingly, results are great even at this zoom level.
The rest of the cameras are two 50MP ones, a 3X telephoto that comes in very useful for portraits and telemacro photography, while the other one is your standard ultrawide snapper.
Most importantly, how does it compare to other popular cameraphones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and Pixel 9 Pro XL?
Let's first reveal the Xiaomi 15 Ultra camera score:
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
PhoneArena Camera Score
BEST 158
158
PhoneArena Photo Score
BEST 165
165
Main (wide)
BEST 87
85
Zoom
BEST 29
29
Ultra-wide
BEST 26
26
Selfie
BEST 30
26
PhoneArena Video Score
BEST 153
150
Main (wide)
BEST 80
78
Zoom
BEST 27
26
Ultra-wide
BEST 24
21
Selfie
BEST 28
25
Xiaomi 15 Ultra Camera Score compared to its rivals
Photo
Video
Phone
Camera Score
Photo Score
Main (wide)
Ultra Wide
Selfie
Zoom
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
158
165
85
26
26
29
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
158
165
87
23
27
28
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
154
158
82
24
28
25
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
151
159
84
23
26
27
Phone
Camera Score
Video Score
Main (wide)
Ultra Wide
Selfie
Zoom
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
158
150
78
21
25
26
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
158
150
75
21
28
26
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
154
150
76
23
27
24
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
151
142
76
20
25
21
Find out more details about photo and video scores for all phones we have tested on our PhoneArena Camera Score page
Surprise, surprise, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is currently tied with the Galaxy S25 Ultra at the very top of our dedicated camera test!
With a total score of 158, both devices currently dwell at the very top, though the Galaxy S25 Ultra achieves a slightly higher score in the still photography test, while the Xiaomi 15 Ultra edges forward in the video-recording one. Still, both impress with their overall performance.
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Trailing behind are the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Pixel 9 Pro XL scored 154 and 151 points, respectively. This doesn't mean they take bad photos or videos, on the contrary: the Xiaomi and the Samsung just perform better.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra camera spider chart
Pros
Excellent dynamic range
Gread color science that delivers natural results
Superb sharpness and detail, especially with the periscope camera
No oversharpening or overprocessing makes for a natural image
Sharp videos with excellent dynamic range
Cons
Color temperature is sometimes on the colder side
Front camera is just okay
Main Camera
Xiaomi 15 Ultra daytime camera samples
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra has an excellent main camera, that's pretty much tied with the Galaxy S25 Ultra in terms of overall quality. It delivers super-sharp images with very natural detail with zero overprocessing or oversharpening, making for photos that are extremely easy to love. The dynamics are also excellent, with the camera never burning out the highlights or squishing the shadows too much. Exposure is usually perfect, but just sometimes, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra likes to throw in some character by delivering more contrasty images. Not a bad thing at all, but worthy mentioning.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra samples
Thanks to the 50MP 3X camera, we get excellent portraits and people shots that feel alive and very natural. You could get better quality from the longer periscope, but the telephoto has the perfect focal length for the most intimate portraits.
Telemacro with the telephoto lens
At lower light, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra once again provides impressive results––exceptional low-light capabilities with tack-sharp details and lovely colors. Certainly an splendid companion for nighttime shutterbugs.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra delivers one of the best zoom spreads we've seen. The quality is great in all photos from 1X to 120X. Yes, even at 120X, where we can see some intricate details on a statue that's nearly a kilometer away.
The star of the show and the main culprit for this spectacular performance is the 200MP 4.3X periscope, which has more than enough resolution in its sensor to bring out the best of digital and optical zoom. This makes the Xiaomi 15 Ultra extremely versatile even beyond 10X zoom, which is normally considered the psychological frontier after which you can expect major dropoff in quality. That's not the case here: we get very decent image quality that falls off less than what we expected.
The ultrawide of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is very good, too. It brings more of that lovely detail, and while dynamics are slightly worse in comparison with the main camera, resulting in slightly darker shadows and highlights that sometimes feel as if they're about to burn, the camera delivers great results. There's some distortion at the corners, though.
Front Camera
Xiaomi 15 Ultra selfie samples
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra has a good selfie camera, but admittedly, it's the worst one of the lot. It delivers detailed selfies, but the colors and the subject exposure aren't better than what you'd get from a Galaxy S25 Ultra, iPhone 16 Pro Max, or even a Pixel 9 Pro XL.
Video
The phone can capture 8K videos at 30fps, but more impressive here is the 4K120fps video recording, supported on the main and periscope cameras. The Galaxy S25 Ultra can also capture 4K120fps footage that can be used for cinematic slo-mos, but only in Video Pro mode, and only with the main and ultrawide cameras, so the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has a slight advantage here.
Videos taken with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra look great, with exceptional detail, great dynamic range, and lovely colors. The phone is on par with the Galaxy S25 Ultra in most areas, but Samsung's flagship exposes the scene slightly better. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is way more detailed, though.
Main Camera - Video
Screen capture from Xiaomi 15 Ultra main camera video
The main camera delivers excellent quality! Crisp details, no oversharpening, great dynamics, true-to-life colors, and magnificent color science. On top of that, the camera is very well stabilized, so footage will be perfectly stable even if you move around briskly. Great!
Ultrawide camera - Video
Screen capture from Xiaomi 15 Ultra ultrawide video
The ultrawide camera delivers crisp and lovely footage. It's stabilized very well, too.
Zoom camera - Video
Screen capture from Xiaomi 15 Ultra periscope video
We get lots of natural detail here, with no overprocessing or oversharpening present.
Selfie camera - Video
Screen capture from Galaxy S25 Ultra selfie video
Selfie videos taken with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra are okay. The dynamics are fine, as well as the details.
Conclusion
Overall, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a very strong contender that's pretty much tied with the Galaxy S25 Ultra for the top spot in our Camera Score test. It's good to see competition mounting up so quickly, challenging Samsung's spot at the top.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra surely has it all: great dynamics, superb detail and sharpness, and lovely natural colors. It performs extremely well in all types of scenarios and performs excellent in almost all.
The only downsides here are the selfie camera, which is just okay and doesn't shine with anything in particular. Still, the rear camera setup is more than enticing to forgive that little shortcoming.
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Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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