I ’m usually pretty excited about every new or upcoming headphone release , and although a heap of my metre at the present moment is spent thinking about the intriguingApple iPhone 17 melodic phrase , and I continue to love myiPhone 16 Pro Max , it ’s another smartphone that has got me all hot under the collar . It ’s theXiaomi 15 Ultra , the sequel to myfavorite photographic camera phoneof 2024 , theXiaomi 14 Ultra . However , while I ’m really keen to see it , I ’m also very aware it hasa great dealto live up to .
It’s the best of Leica and Xiaomi
Xiaomi hasan ongoing partnershipwith camera maker Leica , and the 14 Ultra rightfully represents what the two are open of when go together . I ’d already seen how committed Leica was to mobile picture taking when it worked with Huawei , and I can track backmy enjoyment of photographyto some of the first Leica and Huawei phones , such as theHuawei P9andMate 10 Pro .
But it was n’t only Leica promote the 14 Ultra ’s camera to the limit , it was Xiaomi ’s ingenuity with thePhotography Kit , a bundle of tv camera - centrical accessories which tot up an outside battery inside a custom photographic camera grip , and a superb adaptor pack enabling the employment of full size filter . This transformed the 14 Ultra from headphone to camera , and I adore using it .
I depend forward to using the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s television camera because I was not only confident in its power , but also concerned to see how it deal different scene and surroundings . Onlyone other smartphone camerahas come close to making me feel that way , but I ’ve not been so creatively inspired by any other recently released phone . empathise why I place the Xiaomi 14 Ultra so extremely is fundamental to understanding why I ’m emotional to see what come next .
The intriguing design leak
If I had one complaint about the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s hardware , it would be that it look a bit dull . Sure , the back is covered in fake leather which has a overnice texture , but in plain black it was incognito to the point of being anon. . I was n’t gallant to carry it around , and although the huge camera module give the back of the phone some comportment , it could never be called pretty .
image conjecture to show theXiaomi 15 Ultra have leaked , and if they ’re unfeigned , it looks like Xiaomi agree and has gone above and beyond for the sequel . Instead of establish it in a few dissimilar colors and calling the task good , it appear it has worked with Leica on the design , as the rear panel pay court to the style of a Leica tv camera . It looks brilliant , and give the Xiaomi 15 Ultra the role the 14 Ultra was missing .
There ’s a chance the mental image may have been made by a fan , hopeful of the same changes as I am , but they do appear to have a genuine flavour to them . If Leica has been unforced to permit Xiaomi utilize its famous design as inhalation for the earphone ’s look , just think what it has been doing with the television camera itself . Rumors surrounding the specification indicate it will have four television camera — a 50 - megapixel 1 - column inch sensor main , wide - slant , and 3x telephoto zoom , plus a 200MP telephoto for a 4.3x zoom . This is slightly dissimilar to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra ’s apparatus .
Portrait modeAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
The software situation
Hardware is only the start of what makes mod smartphone camera system of rules slap-up , and what happens behind the view does have me slightly pertain , but I ’m hoping Leica will hold Xiaomi back a little here . I ’m talking about AI , which continues to become evermore present in our phones , and Taiwanese firebrand in particular are swell to put it to apply , due to local purchaser see it asa considerable welfare and a understanding to buy .
While AI has its uses in our cameras — Google’sMagic Eraserand similar features are helpful — most of the metre it veers dangerously into thingmabob territorial dominion . SeeGoogle ’s Add Me , Samsung ’s Sketch to Image tool , and a master of ceremonies of others for evidence . They have their place , and although Google ’s computational photography make water thePixel 9 ProandPro Fold’scameras excellent , I do n’t need AI to cloud Xiaomi ’s design for its next top phone .
This is where Leica come in . It has more than a century of experience behind it , and it still makescameracameras — and expensive one — for partisan , who I do n’t think want much AI in their photos . The Xiaomi 14 Ultra came out just before the tidal moving ridge of AI in smartphones arrived , and remains a surprisingly parallel experience , especially if you use the camera grip and screw - in filters . Provided Xiaomi does n’t jam AI into the camera at the expense of refine the already fantastic tuning and tone with Leica , the 15 Ultra has the chance to be even skillful than before .
Xiaomi 14 Ultra 5x zoomAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
When is it coming?
If Xiaomi can improve on the 14 Ultra ’s terrific camera , not coddle the issue with too much AI , enclose it all up in a delectable design , plus make another Photography Kit accouterment , then the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has a very good luck of taking the awarding for 2025 ’s best tv camera phone when the time amount . TheGalaxy S25 Ultra ’s cameras are well , as is theOnePlus 13 ’s tv camera , but they’rebeatable , and I remember Xiaomi and Leica are the pair with the gift , drive , and ability to do it .
It ’s look potential Xiaomi will launch the 15 Ultra in China on February 26 , based on a leaked notice with the date . The timing makes a subsequent ball-shaped announcement at Mobile World Congress 2025 at the beginning of March entirely possible . Unfortunately Xiaomi does not sell smartphones in the U.S. and this is unbelievable to deepen any sentence before long , but it did finally release the 14 Ultra in the U.K ..
disregardless of when it come , I can not wait to adjudicate the Xiaomi 15 Ultra out and see if it has what it takes to genuinely win the skillful camera phone I ’ve used in a foresightful time .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Xiaomi 14 UltraAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
Cupra Born VZ, taken with the Xiaomi 14 UltraAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
