Move over Samsung, I just tested the best camera phone of 2025

I remember when the convergence of compact cameras and phone cameras began – brands from both sides of the product pond were trying to figure out the best solution to keep customers interested (and buying, of course). The Xiaomi 15 Ultra feels like using the ultimate solution that no brand could quite realise all those years ago.

The Ultra is a handset that pretty much none of the best Android phones' cameras can rival – and I include Google, Samsung and others in that assessment. But there's inevitable compromise: if you want the Xiaomi 15 Ultra's impressive 1-inch sensor size – used in both the 50-megapixel format on the main and the 200MP sensor on the maximum zoom lens – then you've got to accept the physical massive scale of the camera enclosure on the rear. Oh, and the inevitably high price, too.

Attach the Xiaomi 15 Ultra Photography Kit 'Legend Edition', as it's called, and this handset becomes a whole other beast – almost closer to a camera than a phone. Sure, that's a niche proposition for many, I get that, but using the handset in this upgraded format feels like nothing else. But for photo aficionados? This is an unbeatable Android phone.

How much does the Xiaomi 15 Ultra cost?

I've been using the Xiaomi 15 Ultra for a full week ahead of its official Mobile World Congress unveiling, on 2 March 2025, when the brand officially spilt the beans to the world about this handset.

Much like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra from last year, the 15 Ultra's asking price is £1,299 (for the 16GM RAM, 512GB storage option). The device won't launch in the USA, and I don't have additional on-sale dates or regional availability specifics.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra vs 14 Ultra: What's new?

• Samsung HP9 1-inch sensor (200MP resolution, 100mm optical zoom)
• Expands battery capacity (5410mAh, up from 5000mAh)
• Upgraded power: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
• Latest Xiaomi HyperOS and HyperAI systems

Speaking of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, we reviewed that device almost a year ago in April 2024 – and the 15 Ultra is the clear next step in Xiaomi's 'Ultra' handset journey. This is the device that goes all-in on photography – as that's where its biggest upgrades are to be found.

Physically the two handsets aren't hugely different: both sport 6.73-inch OLED displays, so both are of a similar size and weight. Sure, the older handset offered some more colourful finishes than the newer model's 'black' or 'white' offerings, but visually there's otherwise not much in it.

The big upgrade for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, however, is with its Leica quad camera setup. Both handsets' main cameras deliver a 1-inch sensor (from Sony, the LYT-900), but it's the 15 Ultra that brings a 1-inch sensor with 200MP resolution (from Samsung, the HP9) to the optical zoom – and it's a significant 100mm offering, too.

There are other changes, mainly in the form of up-rated Qualcomm hardware and an even larger battery capacity. Those are all positives, of course, which see the newer Ultra sit a step above its predecessor in many ways.

How large is the Xiaomi 15 Ultra's display?

• 6.73-inch OLED display
  • WQHD+ resolution (3200 x 1440 – 522ppi max)
  • 3200 nits maximum peak brightness
  • 1-120Hz refresh rate (variable)
  • Shield Glass 2.0 protection
• 161.3 x 75.3 x 9.35mm / 226g
• Black or White finishes
• IP68 rating

When I first set up the Xiaomi 15 Ultra there was one immediate aspect I really liked about the HyperOS 2 software. As someone who manually arranges apps by type in folders on my home screen, the 'dense' option of the layout, permitting apps five across, was a total dream for me. On a 6.73-inch panel such as this it's super easy to see everything, too.

To my surprise, however, is that despite featuring an undeniably large camera enclosure to the rear – it juts out prominently, as you can see from my pictures – handling the Xiaomi as a normal flagship is no problem at all. It's not been as heavy or unwieldy as I'd assumed – perhaps as I moved over from the Oppo Find N5 foldable – and it avoids wobbling about uncontrollably when laid on a desk too.

I'm not pretending the 15 Ultra isn't large, as it clearly is, but it's also comfortable to hold – there's a subtle curved edge to the display's glass – and it only really feels more pronounced when stowed in a pocket. Which is where this handset has often stayed, given that the faux marble-style rear really isn't to my taste – it's more kitchen worktop than chic smartphone finesse, in my view. But each to their own.

The display is a solid all-rounder, although I'd suggest leaving its default resolution to Full HD+, as the option to up the pixel count affects the battery life rather adversely. The auto-brightness can also function a little strangely from time to time, but there's no doubt that this Xiaomi can crank out the brightness – it'll be a rare requirement for the brightness slider to be maxed out. It's an impressive display, though, that's every bit the flagship in delivery.

How does the Xiaomi 15 Ultra perform?

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, 16GB RAM
• 5410mAh battery capacity
  • 90W HyperCharge
  • 80W wireless
• Xiaomi HyperOS

Performance is every bit the flagship, too, although with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite at the heart that's no major surprise. The base RAM is 16GB, with up to a further 16GB made available from the storage – it's set to 6GB by default – although, while UFS 4.1 is a fast standard, that expansion can't match the LPDDRX5 RAM's speed credentials. Not that it matters: I've had multiple apps open in the background with no bother whatsoever.

Xiaomi's HyperOS does have some quirky floating app features, which I'm not totally sold on – would make more sense in a foldable than here, in my view – but the software doesn't present anything especially aggravating. There plenty of tweaking you can do, as with most Android operating systems, should you want to adjust battery performance and background operation per app – which can have its benefits.

Xiaomi isn't shouting from the rooftops about artificial intelligence (AI) like some other brands are, but it's very much present here – and to much of the same standard. You can setup Google Gemini from within Xiaomi's HyperAI app, assigning it as your personal assistant. Otherwise 'AI app boost' from within this feature offers writing summaries, speech recognition, translation, transcription and image enhancements.

One of the biggest complaints about the Xiaomi 15 Ultra's predecessor was that battery life was unremarkable. This newer handset certainly improves upon that, such is the result of a larger battery capacity, but I'd still struggle to call it stellar. I've found its performance to vary quite significantly, with features such as Bluetooth draining the level quicker than I'd expect.

That said, there's enough juice on board here to get you through a day – even if finishing in the red. Besides, with 90W fast-charging, speedy top-ups are a simple way to extend the life as necessary. As mentioned above, tweaking the settings can also help – ensuring resolution isn't at max, that the refresh rate is set to variable, and limiting screen-on time as needed. Nothing out of the usual.

Does the 15 Ultra have the best cameras of 2025?

• Next-gen Leica quad camera system:
  • Main (23mm): 50-megapixel, 1-inch sensor (Sony LYT-900), f/1.68 aperture, optical stabilisation (OIS)
  • Zoom (100mm optical, 200mm zoom): 200MP, 1-inch sensor (Samsung HP9s), f/2.6, OIS
  • Tele (70mm): 50MP, IMX858, f/1.8, OIS
  • Wide (14mm): 50MP, JN5, f/2.2
• Front camera (21mm): 32MP, f/2.0
• Video: 8K30p, 4K120p max
  • 10-bit Log (4K60p)
  • Dolby Vision
• Xiaomi 15 Ultra Photography Kit Legend Edition also available

But the real reason to consider the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is because of its cameras arrangement. This is the one area where it runs away from the competition. That's because Xiaomi has selected premium sensors, which are often of a physically massive scale for a device such as this, which offer clear benefits. In addition, Leica's optical know-how in Summilux lenses and software assistance furthers the experience.

I've been really impressed with how the 15 Ultra handles. The Camera app features 0.6x, 1x, 2x, 3x, and 4.3x zoom shortcuts to jump between the wide-angle's 14mm to the portrait's 70mm, to the maximum 100mm default (and extra tap zooms to 200mm).

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You can pinch to zoom beyond this too, with the interface clearly showing you the equivalent focal length, while the optical stabilisation takes over in a way you can 'feel' as it kicks into play. It's a very powerful and successful system – although I'd suggest avoiding some of the more significant digital zoom levels owed to degradation of quality.

But the quality is high because of those large-scale sensors: the 1-inch format is so much larger than your average that it makes a big difference to the results. And I'm not talking on a resolution basis here, I mean for the shallow depth of field, with more pronounced background blur (bokeh, as it's called), that genuinely sees the Xiaomi 15 Ultra deliver results like some dedicated cameras.

It wasn't so long ago that Nikon, as one example, committed a huge amount of resource to the Nikon 1 system of cameras – which was built around a 1-inch sensor format. Sure, that was discontinued several years ago, but what was once the prestige of a major camera and optics company can now, quite literally, be sourced in an Android phone that you can place into your pocket.

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What's often tricky to get right for phones' camera systems is to align multiple sensors and lenses so that results look convincingly the same. The Leica magic seems to have taken effect in the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, though, with both preview and results appearing as if they were taken from one and the same camera. The background blur is the most significant variation when not using the 1-inch sensor portion, really.

I won't go into length in this review about the Xiaomi 15 Ultra Photography Kit 'Legend Edition', but if you do purchase this grip add-on, which includes physical control buttons and dials, then the experience is just like a dedicated camera. And as the screen's touch-responsiveness is on point, being able to press to focus and drag to adjust exposure gives a heap of control at your fingertips. Dig into Pro mode and there's tonnes more on offer here.

Overall, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra's camera system is a super-advanced success. It might be overkill for some, and that rear camera enclosure is huge by phone standards, but for photography aficionados it's an untouchable system. I've been blown away by its capabilities, with a range of lenses that stand apart from the computational photography standard that many others offer as an alternative.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: Verdict

As the value of cameras has increased in phones, various makers have gone about their efforts in differing ways. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra makes a no-compromise stance on its camera quality by adopting huge sensors, Leica-approved lens quality, and a significant range of focal lengths in its arrangement. For photo aficionados looking for classic quality, it's an untouchable offering.

Sure, you've got to consolidate the fact it's squeezed into a giant camera enclosure, that it costs a fair packet too, and for true camera-like use you'll want to add the Xiaomi 15 Ultra Photography Kit 'Legend Edition' too. But this just adds yet another unique factor for this handset, making it even more impressive – and even more niche.

Beyond its camera accolades, however, the reason the Xiaomi 15 Ultra impresses so wholeheartedly is that it's a stellar flagship Android phone too. Top-tier power, improved battery life over the last generation, and little software features that help it stand apart in positive fashion. Like me you might not like the appearance of the rear finish, but I can get over that for all the other good that this handset offers – especially from a photographic enthusiast's perspective.

Also consider

On sheer cost basis alone it's worth seeking out the Xiaomi 14 Ultra from last year to save a chunk – it doesn't have the 200MP 1-inch zoom, but it's still impressive.

Otherwise the Android champion of the moment is Google's Pixel 9 Pro XL and its more computational photography features. This is really Android's best iPhone 16 Pro equivalent competitor.