Xiaomi 15 Ultra global is here, but it comes with an inferior battery
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is out there and it's currently tied for the gold in our PhoneArena Camera Score with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The global model of the flagship phone was unveiled on March 2 at MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Spain, but it already had its domestic premiere earlier on February 27.
The phone, albeit an incremental upgrade over its predecessor (the Xiaomi 14 Ultra) is nonetheless among the very best Android handsets you can lay your hands on. What is not that great is the fact that the global model of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra comes with a 5,410mAh battery, supporting 90W wired charging and 80W wireless charging.
While 5,410 mAh is great, it's well behind the 6,000 mAh that the China-exclusive Xiaomi 15 Ultra model offers. 590 mAh might not seem like the greatest difference, but it's nice to have that extra juice in case you need it.
Otherwise, it's a solid flagship with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset under the hood, paired with up to 16 GB of (LPDDR5X) RAM and up to 1 TB of (UFS 4.0) storage, ensuring smooth performance and fast data access.
The screen reaches a peak brightness of 3200 nits, Xiaomi claims, which is great for visibility in outdoor conditions where the sun can be a problem.
Thankfully, the phone packs an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor for fast and reliable unlocking, which is a welcome upgrade from its optical one.
Of course, this Ultra is all about photography, so there's a versatile camera system, including a 23mm Leica 1-inch sensor main camera with a 50 MP Sony LYT-900 sensor and an aperture of f/1.63. Additional cameras cover focal lengths from 14mm to 200mm, including a 70mm telephoto lens for portraits and a 100mm periscope telephoto lens.
Like last year, Xiaomi also offers a photography kit, a camera-inspired accessory with extra controls, a battery pack inside the camera grip, and a 67mm filter adapter.
Despite going global, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra won't be coming to the US – just like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra before that.
The phone, albeit an incremental upgrade over its predecessor (the Xiaomi 14 Ultra) is nonetheless among the very best Android handsets you can lay your hands on. What is not that great is the fact that the global model of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra comes with a 5,410mAh battery, supporting 90W wired charging and 80W wireless charging.
Otherwise, it's a solid flagship with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset under the hood, paired with up to 16 GB of (LPDDR5X) RAM and up to 1 TB of (UFS 4.0) storage, ensuring smooth performance and fast data access.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra comes in three colors: Black, White, and Silver Chrome. It features a 6.73-inch WQHD+ (Wide Quad High Definition Plus) AMOLED display with a resolution of 3200 x 1440 and a pixel density of 522 PPI (the measure of resolution in an image or display).
The screen reaches a peak brightness of 3200 nits, Xiaomi claims, which is great for visibility in outdoor conditions where the sun can be a problem.
Thankfully, the phone packs an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor for fast and reliable unlocking, which is a welcome upgrade from its optical one.
Of course, this Ultra is all about photography, so there's a versatile camera system, including a 23mm Leica 1-inch sensor main camera with a 50 MP Sony LYT-900 sensor and an aperture of f/1.63. Additional cameras cover focal lengths from 14mm to 200mm, including a 70mm telephoto lens for portraits and a 100mm periscope telephoto lens.
Like last year, Xiaomi also offers a photography kit, a camera-inspired accessory with extra controls, a battery pack inside the camera grip, and a 67mm filter adapter.
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