Xiaomi 15 Ultra review: specs, battery & used prices

Summary

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a camera-first flagship: Snapdragon 8 Elite, a 6.73-inch 120 Hz OLED at 1,600 nits, and an optical stack led by a 200 MP ultrawide alongside a 50 MP main and 50 MP telephoto. At $1,099 new for the 12/256 configuration it competes directly with the biggest names, and used examples hold value unusually well for an Android flagship — the few listings we track cluster in the low $900s. The trade-offs are a 226 g heft and Xiaomi's shorter four-year update commitment.

Display and design

The 6.73-inch AMOLED runs at 120 Hz with 1,600 nits peak brightness and earns a screen score of 72/100 — bright, fluid, and color-consistent. The camera bump dominates the rear and pushes weight to 226 g, which our compactness score of 65/100 registers plainly. Full IP68 sealing is present and welcome at this price.

Performance

Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers: everyday performance scores 92/100 and gaming 79/100, matching the fastest Android phones of 2025. Xiaomi commits to four years of OS updates — decent, though half of what Samsung and Google now offer, and worth factoring into a long-term ownership plan.

Camera

This is where the money goes. The 200 MP ultrawide is genuinely unusual — it captures detail most rivals cannot at that focal length — and the 50 MP main and 50 MP stabilized telephoto round out a versatile quad-adjacent setup with 8K30 video. The camera score of 60/100 in our index reflects the weighting of the whole system rather than any single weak link; the main sensor's low-light output in particular is excellent.

Battery and charging

A 5,410 mAh battery scores 48/100 on endurance — middling for the capacity, a consequence of the power-hungry platform — but 90 W wired charging (a 71/100 charge score) refills it fast enough that endurance matters less. Twenty-two minutes to substantially full is the practical experience.

Verdict

If the camera is the reason you buy a phone, the 15 Ultra is the strongest argument in its price class, and its firm secondhand values back that up. If not, the same money buys a lighter, longer-supported flagship — the Galaxy S24 Ultra pairs seven years of updates with comparable imaging for less used.