The camera performance of the new Xiaomi 15 Ultra compared to other flagship phones – Vivo X200 Pro, Oppo X8 Ultra – seems to be hit or miss (according to reviews, comparisons, and comments). I see lots of people recommend other phones for camera performance over the Xiaomi.
However, considering the top-notch camera hardware of the Xiaomi and the fact that I remember hearing people say that camera updates for the 14 Ultra improved the camera performance of that phone, would it be reasonable to expect that future camera updates for the 15 Ultra will also significantly improve the performance of its camera?
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First of all don’t go by reviews xiaomi 15 ultra is best overall camera alongwith s25 ultra. Reason they probably get timely software updates whereas other phones you mentioned will lag in software updates. Also other point is xiaomi is not officially available in US market so their reviews will neglect xiaomi phones.
I’m also going by direct comparisons between the Xiaomi 15U and competitors where I also oftentimes felt like other phones took better photos. The reviews I read were also (mainly) not from US outlets since I am aware of the bias against phones not marketed there.
That’s the main reason I’m asking about camera updates because I know that the hardware is there and its camera should technically outperform other phone cameras (or at least perform equally as well) which – at the moment – it doesn’t seem to do.
Again those photos could real or not posted by biased reviewers. If they are real over a period of time lack of software updates in future will ruin their performance.
I have both 15u and 25U in my household. I very much prefer the 15U over 25U for camera. Software wisei I prefer OneUI over hyperOS. even in point and shoot I prefer the 15U. Photos have more character and very DSLR like. However I mainly shoot with ev of -0.7 and -0.3.
I know it’s a bit tangential but – unless you are in China or somehow otherwise entirely out of the loop of androids main apps, theres some other pretty major downsides to Vivo and Oppo aren’t there? As in they won’t be able to run some services the global Xiaomi can?
This. I think once we reduce the ev Xiaomi 15U outperforms most of the flagships. But I still think Xiaomi should fix the Exposure asap.
What do you mean by “androids main apps”? Google services work on the X8 Ultra (even Google Pay and Android Auto) and the Vivo too (not sure about GPay and Android Auto). Using CN exclusive phones outside of China does come with some disadvantages (e.g. missing AI features like Circle to Search, no Google location timeline, some bloatware), I am aware of that. However, if the those phones are superior in many areas compared to the phones marketed here and as long as all the important wireless network bands are supported, then I might be able to live with that.
I guess Google pay and android auto seem a big deal to me, I wasn’t aware the 8 ultra would work with them?
Following this post as im curious as to how Xiaomi has gone about improving the 14 ultra with updates or not.
I was positively surprised as well, but yeah, it supports both
I’d like an answer to this post as well. No one seems to have answered that. It would be great to hear from Ultra 14 owners and their experience when buying the phone and benefits updated provided.
https://preview.redd.it/thvibvz2hewe1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=234b374727d36e2fb3db10ac1a078128d7b01299
Some random photos shot in Auto with EV dialled down. Leica Authentic. Nothing fancy. Straight out of the phone and no edits. I have just started learning how to use this phone/camera.
https://preview.redd.it/bkl9vkhchewe1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3157c4cbf5991bfd038f178ee9dafaf07282dfe0
I am not sure how to add multiple photos
https://preview.redd.it/q584kp2khewe1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c3037eb4154a05829361645a01093671c98f68b
I like how sky remains dark and highlights are still reasonably well controlled
I can only confirm what others have said: 15u now has the best camera on a phone, except selfie and ultra wide. just dial down exposure based on lighting conditions, and you’re good to go.
And having a s24 ultra to compare side by side, I would say it’s a huge difference. S24 has a lot of noise in the photos, especially on both telephotos, which are a complete let down for me.
Coming from Fujifilm xt3 and iphone 15 pro max I can tell you that I only shoot with the 15 ultra now and I’m not looking back.
Also xiaomi interconnectivity connects and transfers to mac for editing I think it’s just the perfect workflow. Don’t know about the quality from the other Chinese camera phones I watch the reviews but I guess if I had to focus on something it wouldn’t be the quality as all those sensors are great with different personalities that you can almost always change if you don’t like the sooc images, if you shoot raw.
The battery though even with the photography kit that I paid 200€ for won’t make a day of street photography not even half a day even if I’m conservative with my clicks. This should definitely be fixed with fw…
it wasn’t fixed with the 14U, I do not think it will be with the 15U.
No, its getting worse. Besides, the qr code option no longer works.
14 Ultra launched with Hyper OS 1 which had a terrible battery life. On Hyper OS 2, the battery actually is improved.
Of course it did, you can regiew the change log history to verify the fixes they’ve made for the camera.
The only issue with the latest xiaomi ultras 14 & 15 are the over exposed shots and bad portraits for skin tones.
Other than that, the photos are fantastic if you dial down the exposure.
I didn’t notice any difference
I have been using my Xiaomi 14 Ultra since June 2024, the camera apps. already received a few updates like new features & improvement – camera UI, functions, filters etc
I see some improvements like better pictures, well maybe better contrast / not having overblown white in scenarios when there is strong light behind people, better skin colour, better face details when taking pictures of people in group etc significantly yes, drastically no at this moment.
What does EV stand for?
Exposure Value