I am looking to upgrade my Xperia 1 III (as the fingerprint sensor has died) and I am currently evaluating my options. I was waiting for the Xperia 1 VII but the upgrades are minimal at best, the price is exorbitant and it is not even for sale in Switzerland (currently).
This time, I want to upgrade to a phone with all the bells and whistles and therefore my only two options are the S25U and the 15U.
I have exclusively used Xperias for Android phones (and Nokia Lumia before that), and am therefore used to a very minimalistic OS skin with minimum customisation.
I therefore have a few questions about the 15U that I am hoping folks here could address. Since I am in Switzerland, I expect I will be on the EU ROM which I gleam is semi-decent with the update frequency.
###Software Experience
* I have heard that there are instances of missing app notifications with Xiaomi? Is that still the case?
* I have heard that I have to disable battery optimisations for apps with missing notifications and that I have to redo this each time I restart my phone. Is this true?
* Since Xperia offers a (more or less) stock Android experience, changes that Google makes upstream (like the upcoming Material Three Expressive) come to the Xperia with OS updates. How does Xiaomi handle these changes? Or does Xiaomi use a completely different experience that has no relation to Material Design?
* Are there regression in features with subsequent OS Updates? I don’t want the camera quality to be degraded with an upgrade because Xiaomi needs to sell their newer model.
* Does the device become slower with subsequent updates?
###Device Longevity
* Xiaomi promises 4 + 6 years of updates. Does the device (and especially the battery) last that long?
* The Xperia was notorious for the issue with the failing fingerprint sensor. Any similar issues with Xiaomi?
* The camera island looks fragile – can it actually last for 3-4 years and not accumulate scratches from surfaces and pocket lint?
###Camera
* The camera is undeniably great, but how is the point and shoot experience? On the Xperia I had to play around with the settings to get a good shot.
# I find the shots from the S25U and the iPhones of the world to be too vibrant? Is the 15U more vibrant than these or more natural looking? I know there are two profiles (Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant), but it seems that the photos are overexposed and saturated. Is that the case?
* How “bad” is the selfie camera? Every review I have watched says that the S25U is significantly better. Would you classify it as average or a mess?
* Is there a video which I can watch that shows me the interface of the camera application?
###HyperOS
* Can anyone link me to a video which I can watch that gives me a detailed overview of HyperOS?
* I get easily annoyed with UX inconsistencies, so I want an in-depth video.
###Call Quality
* Multiple people have complained to me that they could barely hear me on the Xperia 1 III (even with headphones). How is the call quality on the 15U? With and without bluetooth?
Given these questions, how do you think the 15U compares to the S25U?
You are asking questions about the future that nobody can answer.
There are no missing notifications with the Global EU ROM.
I have no idea how to answer about your battery and notification question – the premise does not make sense.
Hyper OS 2 is a different skin than One UI 7 or the Pixel skin. It feels like a super fast stock Android experience, much faster and responsive that on a flagship Samsung or Pixel device. If you can use any Android skin like Sony, Pixel, or Samsung then you will find Hyper OS 2 very intuitive and have no problem using it.
If you think that a manufacturer is going to try to cripple your device with future updates – I’ll refer that question to the “tinfoil on your head” forum.
With the minimal and minor OS 2 updates received since release, there has been no slow down. Nobody can predict the future on a new device with a new processor and new software. The only manufacturer causing real issues with their updates lately has been Samsung with the failed and buggy One UI 7 launch – it is really a mess and one of the reasons I switched to Xiaomi for a premium software experience.
There is no way to predict the physical longevity of a device, but the X15U appears as well made as any flagship device available right now. There are people that always have issues with any phone from any manufacture; from green lines on displays to buttons falling out to batteries swelling.
Camera island – I am not sure how you “assess” it as fragile. How can anyone predict how you will treat your phone? I never use screen protectors and never get scratches on any of my phones (flagship Google and Samsung), other people swear by screen protectors. You can always use the Photography Kit case and install a clear filter to protect the camera assembly is you are worried about it.
Point and shot works great. Especially the Leica Fast Shot mode – probably the best of any camera you can buy. If you are a Leica user the entire interface with be familiar to you.
If you search YouTube you can find photographers that review the X15U from a photography perspective that go through all the camera settings. These same multiple reviews all chime in on their feelings about saturation or natural color reproduction – if you can find two YouTubers that agree on anything photography related – good luck.
Flossy Carter usually does good reviews on all the Hyper OS 2 features. If you search for Hyper OS 2 on YouTube, there are multiple videos to review.
Call quality is absolutely fine. Speakers are also great – you have to set it to Xiaomi sound, if you use Dolby it is sounds below average.
Samsung gives you the new and “upgraded” S – pen (that is a joke – the S23U s pen is better with BT). Samsung gives you longer software and support, but I imagine you will have moved on after 4-6 years, so that is irrelevant. Xiaomi give you a better camera system with Photography Kit – a real game changer. I love playing around with Good Lock modules, so you will not get that insane level of customization with Xiaomi.
I keep my Samsung as a backup device and rock my Xiaomi as my primary. But to each his own. We all have different criteria – only you can decide what is important to you.
We don’t know the longevity of 15U given the battery is some different one compared to what we had before.
There are not so many toggles in 15U in automode but they’re enough. There are many toggles in manual mode tho. I shoot with EV -0.3 and it’s autosaved like that (you’ll have the same EV whenever you open the camera so)
Selfie camera is good and consistent, but Samsung’s selfie is better
I have both the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and S25U (USA). Got the Xiaomi imported since it works on T-Mobile network bands and has band 71 which is very important for USA devices.
I use the Xiaomi sometimes but always find myself returning to the Samsung. The Xiaomi is nice for taking some good pictures, but in nearly every other aspect, even build quality and feel, the samsung just seems better. Every week I’m like “I’ll use the xiaomi for the whole week” after 1 day I pop my main sim back into the S25U.
Flat screen, which makes it work well with a glass protector. Overall better build quality. Superior software. And for some reason, fhe Xiaomi likes to get warm, even when doing minimal tasks.
When I ordered fhe Xiaomi I really wanted to like it more than I do, but at the end of the day, all around, it feels “cheap” compared to the Samsung. The haptics on the samsung are also drastically better.
Even though they claim a 90w charge speed tests showed that its maybe faster by 10 minutes or so vs the samsung.
The xiaomi is a good phone dont get me wrong. But it costs the same as an S25U but doesnt have the dame premium feel minus the camera.
HyperOS also has some strange hiccups here and there which are strange at times.
The Samsung will be the most natural upgrade from you coming from a Sony, mostly due to shape and feel of the phone. The S25U you are considering is the Snapdragon version, yeah? If so, even though I do think the Xiaomi is one of the better phones out there, overall, for the price, I could not recommend it over the S25U.
Let me know if you want to know anything else.
Call quality is also much better on the Samsung.
Selfie camera is vastly superior on the Samsung.
Regular camera is much better on the Xiaomi
Point and shoot is good on both but the Xiaomi has a superior main camera.
Ecosystem much more complete on Samsung. Xiaomi has a better display on paper but in practice then Samsung feels brighter and more vibrant- not sure exactly why but despite much higher nits, the Samsung still looks better in many instances.
At the end of the day… The Xiaomi is still a Chinese phone, and very much feels like so. I think you’d be much happier with the Samsung. Plus the availability of accessories, software updates and stability… Its just hard to justify a Xiaomi for its price, esp with the price drop on the S25U since the Edge came out
I watched this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWBjY5URadI
The screen looks better on the S25 Ultra.
The rounded corners on the 15U end up making the UI elements in the corner look squished. I found that to be annoying.
I also use OneDrive and I saw that OneDrive is integrated into the Samsung Gallery app, which is a nice advantage.
I also saw this video of One UI: https://youtu.be/CG3qH-sLmyk
I then watched this video of HyperOS 1 (and from what I understand, HyperOS 2 is not that different): https://youtu.be/1w4PXE0zARI
I also watched this video again (I had seen it before): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azSjmmVfadU
After considering everything, I arrived at the same conclusion as you.
The 15U might give me better photographs, but the S25U will also give me good photographs (just not as good as the 15U) and better video recording capabilities.
However, the UX inconsistencies in 15U will drive me crazy. Plus, Samsung has an official repair centre in my country so I went ahead and ordered the S25U.
Thanks for the detailed answer, much appreciated. I went with the S25U. I explain my reasoning here: https://old.reddit.com/r/XiaomiGlobal/comments/1kma6kx/europe_which_to_pick_between_the_15u_and_the_s25u/mseyegu/