Comparison
Xiaomi 14 Ultra or Xiaomi 15 Ultra?
Jen's verdict, pros and cons from both reviews side by side. The statements come from the respective review – the date of the video is the as-of date.
Review from May 15, 2024
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
What does Jen say about the Xiaomi 14 Ultra?
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra combines a pro camera and a high-end smartphone. Compromises are the missing eSIM, lots of bloatware and slow security updates, and the recommended retail price (RRP) of €1,449 is too high. Jen recommends it without reservation, especially for smartphone photography.
Pros
- Leica main camera with four 50-megapixel lenses, the best smartphone photos Jen has seen
- Razor-sharp LTPO AMOLED with up to 3,000 nits and thin bezels
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, everything runs super smooth
- 5,000 mAh battery with 7 to 9 hours of screen-on time
- 90-watt charger in the box, 0 to 100% in about 35 minutes
Cons
- RRP of €1,449 is too high
- Only 4 years of OS and 5 years of security updates, slow rollout
- No eSIM support
- Lots of preinstalled bloatware
- Photography Kit costs €200 extra
Review from May 28, 2025
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
What does Jen say about the Xiaomi 15 Ultra?
For Jen, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is the best smartphone camera on the market and has been her daily driver since the launch in early March. Videos fall behind the photos, and battery life dropped after an update. In her view, anyone who values good photos and videos can hardly get around it.
Pros
- Four Leica lenses with real hardware instead of just AI post-processing
- 1-inch main sensor with 50 megapixels, very good in low light, great bokeh in portraits
- Two telephoto lenses: 3x optical and 200 megapixels with 4.3x optical zoom
- Four microphones, very good audio recordings
- Snapdragon 8 Elite, smooth and energy efficient
- Updates now come regularly
Cons
- Videos do worse than the photos
- Significantly shorter battery life after an update
- Fairly heavy at 226 g
- No detailed guide to the many camera functions