Xiaomi 15 Pro Preview: Another strong Android contender
Xiaomi 15 Pro Intro
Xiaomi is the latest brand to showcase its next generation of flagship phones in China, and the Xiaomi 15 Pro is shaping out to be a strong Android contender when it lauches globally, sometime next year.
The phone impressed us with pure stats, such as the now mandatory flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the triple 50MP camera system, and one of the largest capacity batteries on such an elegant phone—6,100 mAh.
So, while we wait for our test unit to arrive, we've decided to compile a tiny preview for all of you impatient smartphone enthusiasts and list everything we know about the Xiaomi 15 Pro. When the phone arrives at our test bench, we will populate this preview with benchmarks, widgets, and hands-on experience to arrive at the final score.
The phone impressed us with pure stats, such as the now mandatory flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the triple 50MP camera system, and one of the largest capacity batteries on such an elegant phone—6,100 mAh.
Table of Contents:
Xiaomi 15 Pro Specs
That's one big battery right there
Let's start with an overview of the Xiaomi 15 Pro specs:
| Specs | Xiaomi 15 Pro |
|---|---|
| Size and Weight | 161.3 x 75.3 x 8.4 mm, 213 grams |
| Display | 6.73 inches, 1440 x 3200 pixels, 120Hz |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm) |
| Software | Android 15, HyperOS 2 |
| Cameras | 50 MP sensor (main camera), f/1.44 aperture lens, 23mm equivalent focal length, OIS, 2.4μm quad-pixel 50 MP sensor (telephoto camera), f/2.5 aperture, 120mm equivalent focal length, OIS, 30 cm macro distance 50MP sensor (ultra-wide camera), f/2.2 aperture, 14mm equivalent focal length, 5 cm macro distance |
| Battery Size | 6,100 mAh |
| Charging Speeds | 90 wired charge 50 wireless charging |
| Memory | 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM |
Xiaomi 15 Pro Design and Display
Same old, same old
The overall design of the Xiaomi 15 Pro follows so closely the design of its predecessor that you would probably have a hard time telling which is which. The same flat sides, flat front and back, glass and metal sandwich design cues are here for yet another year, and the same square camera housing on the back is present as well.
The colors shown during the Chinese launch were as follows:
Moving to the display, we find almost the same panel as the one on the previous model. It's a 6.73-inch 2K OLED curved display with a 3200 x 1440 resolution, utilizing TCL CSOT’s M9 luminous materials. The advertised brightness hence has been bumped up to 3,200 nits (peak), and the power consumption has been reduced by 24% compared to the Xiaomi 14 Pro.
Our display benchmarks will put these claims to the test, so stay tuned for some hard numbers one the phone lands in our lab.
Disclaimer: We measure smartphone brightness at 100% APL, meaning a pure bright image across the whole screen.
Finally, in terms of biometrics, the Xiaomi 15 Pro has one upgrade up its sleeve. The phone comes with an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner, a clear upgrade over the optical one in the previous model.
The size and weight are almost the same as well, with just a millimeter difference here and there and a few grams spared compared to the previous model. One thing to mention here is that the Xiaomi 15 Pro doesn't have a titanium version, while the previous model offered such an option.
The colors shown during the Chinese launch were as follows:
- Bright Silver Edition
- Rock Gray
- White
- Spruce Green
Moving to the display, we find almost the same panel as the one on the previous model. It's a 6.73-inch 2K OLED curved display with a 3200 x 1440 resolution, utilizing TCL CSOT’s M9 luminous materials. The advertised brightness hence has been bumped up to 3,200 nits (peak), and the power consumption has been reduced by 24% compared to the Xiaomi 14 Pro.
Our display benchmarks will put these claims to the test, so stay tuned for some hard numbers one the phone lands in our lab.
Disclaimer: We measure smartphone brightness at 100% APL, meaning a pure bright image across the whole screen.
Finally, in terms of biometrics, the Xiaomi 15 Pro has one upgrade up its sleeve. The phone comes with an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner, a clear upgrade over the optical one in the previous model.
Xiaomi 15 Pro Camera
Now it's a submarine
This strange subheading concerns the telephoto camera, and yes, you've guessed it right, it's a periscope zoom system now. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Here's the triple camera system spec-wise:
This may look suspiciously similar to the Xiaomi 14 Pro, barring the aforementioned periscope zoom lens, and that's because… well, it is pretty much the same system.
There are some AI photography tricks marketed, but we'll have to snap some samples to pass a final judgment on the Xiaomi 15 Pro and its camera.
- 50 MP sensor (main camera), f/1.44 aperture lens, 23mm equivalent focal length, OIS, 2.4μm quad-pixel
- 50 MP sensor (telephoto camera), f/2.5 aperture, 120mm equivalent focal length, OIS, 30 cm macro distance
- 50MP sensor (ultra-wide camera), f/2.2 aperture, 14mm equivalent focal length, 5 cm macro distance
This may look suspiciously similar to the Xiaomi 14 Pro, barring the aforementioned periscope zoom lens, and that's because… well, it is pretty much the same system.
There are some AI photography tricks marketed, but we'll have to snap some samples to pass a final judgment on the Xiaomi 15 Pro and its camera.
Xiaomi 15 Pro Performance & Benchmarks
Fast and furious
The Xiaomi 15 Pro joins the elite (pun intended) Android club of phones equipped with the much anticipated and hyped Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. We saw many leaked benchmarks, analyses, and specifications prior to the official unveiling by Qualcomm, and what can we say? The chip looks like a beast.
For the first time in quite a while (or probably the first time ever), this Qualcomm silicon seems able to take on the best Apple has to offer. We need to run our own benchmarks to see if those predictions are true, but things look promising.
Just to spice things up a bit, the global version of the Xiaomi 15 Pro was spotted on Geekbench, managing a single-core performance score of 3180 points and a multi-core score of a whopping 10058 points. So stay tuned for our own benchmarks and comparisons.
On the RAM and storage front, there's nothing surprising. The base configuration features 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is pretty standard this year. There's a version with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage if you want to be future-proof.
For the first time in quite a while (or probably the first time ever), this Qualcomm silicon seems able to take on the best Apple has to offer. We need to run our own benchmarks to see if those predictions are true, but things look promising.
Just to spice things up a bit, the global version of the Xiaomi 15 Pro was spotted on Geekbench, managing a single-core performance score of 3180 points and a multi-core score of a whopping 10058 points. So stay tuned for our own benchmarks and comparisons.
Xiaomi 15 Pro Software
The Xiaomi 15 series launched with HyperOS 2.0 in China, based on Android 15. It introduces three core technological innovations to the series—HyperCore, HyperConnect, and HyperAI, but the caveat here is that these AI features are currently available in China, and we don't know whether or not we're going to see them on the global version.
To put it simply, HyperCore is the main kernel of the HyperOS UI, HyperConnect helps Xiaomi devices talk to each other, and HyperAI is the mandatory AI core that every 2024 smartphone has. Here's a quick description of the latter from Xiomi's website:
"HyperOS 2 also reshapes system applications with AI, enhancing productivity and usability. AI writing lets users quickly refine or extend text on-screen. AI sound recognition enables transcription and identifying speaker-specific audio in calls, recordings, or meeting apps, generating accurate summaries. AI subtitles provide real-time translation and interpretation in meetings, improving cross-language communication. On Xiaomi tablets, the "AI Art" function within Mi Canvas can transform sketches into customized artwork, unlocking new creative possibilities."
We're going to test these features (if they come out of China) and report their usability when we finish the review.
To put it simply, HyperCore is the main kernel of the HyperOS UI, HyperConnect helps Xiaomi devices talk to each other, and HyperAI is the mandatory AI core that every 2024 smartphone has. Here's a quick description of the latter from Xiomi's website:
"HyperOS 2 also reshapes system applications with AI, enhancing productivity and usability. AI writing lets users quickly refine or extend text on-screen. AI sound recognition enables transcription and identifying speaker-specific audio in calls, recordings, or meeting apps, generating accurate summaries. AI subtitles provide real-time translation and interpretation in meetings, improving cross-language communication. On Xiaomi tablets, the "AI Art" function within Mi Canvas can transform sketches into customized artwork, unlocking new creative possibilities."
We're going to test these features (if they come out of China) and report their usability when we finish the review.
Xiaomi 15 Pro Battery
Another silcion-carbon wonder
We're starting to see huge battery capacities on not-that-big flagship phones, and the reason behind this is called silicon-carbon battery technology. We've already explained the tech in detail, but long story short, by imbuing the anode with silicon, engineers are able to increase the capacity by around 20% for the same volume.
Honor was the first Chinese company to bring the technology globally, and now more and more brands (using the same manufacturer) are putting such batteries inside their phones (OnePlus 13 is a prime example).
The Xiaomi 15 Pro is the latest to hop on that silicon-carbon train with a huge 6,100 mAh cell inside its sleek and slender body, a feat that previously required a huge chunk of phone, such as the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate.
The charging is also pretty fast, at least on paper, but this is not a surprise—Xiaomi phones are strong at fast charging, boasting wired and wireless speeds their western counterparts can only dream of. The advertised speeds are 90W wired and 50W wireless, and we will test how fast the Xiaomi 15 Pro charges (and how long it lasts) once we lay our hands on the test sample.
The Xiaomi 15 Pro is the latest to hop on that silicon-carbon train with a huge 6,100 mAh cell inside its sleek and slender body, a feat that previously required a huge chunk of phone, such as the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate.
The charging is also pretty fast, at least on paper, but this is not a surprise—Xiaomi phones are strong at fast charging, boasting wired and wireless speeds their western counterparts can only dream of. The advertised speeds are 90W wired and 50W wireless, and we will test how fast the Xiaomi 15 Pro charges (and how long it lasts) once we lay our hands on the test sample.
Should you buy it?
The phone comes with a great package, now featuring a periscope zoom lens, keeping the great screen from its predecessor but utilizing new materials to make it brighter, and last but not least, featuring one of the largest batteries on a flagship.
The deciding factor here will be global pricing and availability, so we need to wait a bit more to stamp our final verdict on this one.
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