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I am usually quite enthusiastic about every new or upcoming telephone release, and although much of my time is currently being spent thinking about the intriguing Apple iPhone 17 air, and I keep loving my iPhone 16 Pro Max, it is another Smartphone that is completely hot under the collar. It is the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, the sequel to my favorite camera telephone of 2024, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Although I really want to see it, I am also very aware of it Lots of deal To make it happen.
It’s the best of Leica and Xiaomi
Xiaomi has a constant collaboration with cameramaker Leica, and the 14 Ultra really represents what the two can work together. I had already seen how dedicated Leica was for mobile photography when it worked with Huawei, and I can keep my pleasure of photography to some of the first Leica and Huawei telephones, such as the Huawei P9 and Mate 10 Pro.
But it was not only Leica who pushed the 14 ultra’s camera to the limit, it was Xiaomi’s ingenuity with the photography kit, a bundle of camera-centric accessories that added an external battery in an adapted camera trip and an excellent adapter ring that switched on the adapter ring who called in it that it switched on that the use of full -size filters. This transformed the 14 ultra from telephone to camera and I loved its use.
I looked forward to using the Xiaomi 14 camera of Ultra because I was not only confident in his assets, but also interested in seeing how it treated different scenes and environments. Only one other smartphone camera has come close to make me feel that way, but I am not so creatively inspired by another recently released telephone. Understanding why I rate the Xiaomi 14 Ultra so high is the key to understand why I am enthusiastic to see what is coming next.
The intriguing design
If I had one complaint about the hardware of Xiaomi 14 Ultra, it would be a bit boring. Of course, the back is covered with fake leather with a nice texture, but in normal black it was incognito to be anonymous. I was not proud to take it with me, and although the huge camera module gave the back of the phone a presence, it could never be called nicely.
Images are supposed to show the Xiaomi 15 ultra, are leaked, and if they are real, it seems that Xiaomi agrees and it is best for the sequel. Instead of making it in a few different colors and to call the project good, it seems that it has worked with Leica on the design, because the rear panel is a tribute to the style of a Leica camera. It looks brilliant and gives the Xiaomi 15 ultra the character that the 14 ultra was missing.
There is a chance that the images were made possible by a fan, hopeful for the same changes as me, but they seem to have a genuine look. If Leica has been willing to have Xiaomi used his famous design as inspiration for the look of the phone, imagine what it did with the camera itself. Rumors around the specification indicate that it will have four cameras-a 50-inch sensor head, wide angle and 3x telephotozoom of 50 megapixel, plus a 200MP telephoto for a 4.3x zoom. This is somewhat different from the arrangement of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra.
The software situation
Hardware is only the beginning of what makes modern smartphone camera systems great, and what happens behind the scenes makes me somewhat worried, but I hope Leica Xiaomi stops a bit here. I am talking about AI, which is increasingly present in our phones, and especially Chinese brands, because local buyers see it as a considerable advantage and a reason to buy.
While AI has its use in our cameras – the magical eraser of Google and similar functions are useful – it usually runs dangerous in Gimmick’s territory. See Google’s Add Me, Samsung’s Sketch to Image Tool and a large number of others for proof. They have their place, and although the computational photography of Google makes the cameras of Pixel 9 Pro and Pro excellent, I don’t want AI that Xiaomi’s plan for the next top phone cloud.
This is where Leica enters. It has more than a century of experience behind it, and it still makes it camera Cameras – and expensive – for enthusiasts, who I don’t think do not want much AI on their photos. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra came from just before AI’s tidal wave arrived in smartphones and remains a surprising analogue experience, especially if you use the camera mature and the struggling filters. Provided that Xiaomi Ai does not pack in the camera at the expense of refining the already fantastic coordination and Toon with Leica, the 15 ultra has the chance to be even better than before.
When will it come?
If Xiaomi can improve the 14 ultra -camera of the 14 ultra, the results cannot spoil with too much AI, wrap it all in a wonderful design, plus a different photography titrice, then the Xiaomi 15 ultra has a very good chance of to take the prize for the best camera telephone of 2025 when the time comes. The cameras of the Galaxy S25 Ultra are good, just like the camera of the OnePlus 13, but they are defeatedAnd I think Xiaomi and Leica are the couple with the talent, the drive and the ability to do it.
It probably looks that Xiaomi will launch the 15 Ultra in China on 26 February, based on a leaked poster with the date. At the beginning of March, the timing will make another worldwide announcement on Mobile World Congress 2025. Unfortunately, Xiaomi does not sell any smartphones in the US and this will probably not change quickly, but it ultimately released the 14 ultra in the UK.
Regardless of when it comes, I can’t wait to try the Xiaomi 15 Ultra Out and see if it needs to really follow the best camera telephone that I used in a long time.
