Experience with Xiaomi 15 ultra ( Xiaomi15U) from long term Android User
So I recently purchased and started using this Phone after reading so many good things about it, YouTube, TikTok and so on. Latest phone was a Samsung Galaxy S24 ultra. I want to give an honest review of my perception:
Pros: The phone on the battery is quite good, I’ve read a lot about battery problems but didn’t encounter any so far. The screen is also great even in the sun and I would venture as to say the speakers are louder and crisper that the Samsung. Performance in terms of smoothness and graphics is also outstanding. Fast charging also works great. The phone is a little heavy, for me it’s good but for others might be an issue. In terms of design the back feels cheap but the sides of the phone are nice, and the camera module looks great though it’s a little annoying when grabbing the phone.
Cons: Here comes the most important part in my opinion. First, the camera we have heard so much about. I found it to be very disappointing. Yes the hardware is great, no doubt, but clearly the software is enough to make it crap. Xiaomi handles light very badly so in most picture where there is lo light areas or very bright areas, there will be over or under exposure in automatic mode. Furthermore camera HDR is crap, which is key for any decent picture nowadays since otherwise is almost impossible to get the right light everywhere unless you do advanced editing. Autofocus isn’t too good either, if you place 2 objects one in front of the other the camera won’t be able to focus both whereas the Samsung gets very close to good focus in both of them. Also with the main Kes compared to the Samsung, yes images get a little more definition when you zoom in a lot, but this is useless on the day to day since nobody will be looking at such fine detail and things like small letters are still readable in the Samsung. Video is also inferior to other flagships but we knew that. Microphones are quite good nonetheless. So all in all the hardware doesn’t live up to what you’d expect. Some of these mistakes can be fixed in pro mode, but again without HDR and good focus software there is only so much you can do for certain types of images. Also the colors are a bit off both in Leica authentic and of course vibrant.
Additionally HyperOS2 is terrible like so many things they didn’t even think about. For example the phone only has 2 modes, sound and silent. You can’t get vibrations with no sound unless you go into settings and adjust it but then you have to do it all over again when you want silent mode like while sleeping, it’s so annoying for something that most phones have. Also you can’t double tap to lock in home screen, need a widget for that. Compatibility with a lot of games is crap as well, constant connection errors. There is also a noticeable delay in notifications… I could keep going
To sum it all app my advice is: Don’t buy this phone. The camera isn’t good enough to justify the software issues and bad product support from Xiaomi (less years of updates amongst other things) as well as the insane price. Furthermore the software is a constant headache. I would gladly go back to Samsung or perhaps Vivo (haven’t tried that one yet) because I think the marginal decrease in camera quality is much worth it compared to better software, Better support and equal performance, screen, battery life (look at tests between both) and so on.
Might do another post in the future with photos to show proof of the issues I mentioned.
Ps: The phone heats up more than others, is not as bad as some people say but it’s there for sure. Also there is a decent amount of bloatware in the phone. But it’s less than on the lower end models
Double tap to lock is like a sin to xiaomi phones. Only poco has that options. Redmi and xiaomi must use widget lol.
For bloatware is always there. But at least no ads whatsoever.
Now their software,it’s always hit and miss. Hit : smooth and rich in features. Miss : stability and amount of updates per year and in total. And bugs that take too long to fix and even sometimes they pretend it’s not there.
I plan to buy 14T pro ,i only need telephoto for my daily activities,i don’t need superb flagship phones. But coming from MIUI 14 and heard so many bad things compare to good things about hyperOS 2,idk how to react to that. Wish vivo x200 is lighter and has better stabilization. But i guess better wait for end of the year to see any new release phones.
The only thing i cannot give up from xiaomi is their scanning document feature. I don’t need to install any apps for scanning document. I wish many reviews mention this feature in their review videos.
Crappy Samsung fanboi clearly no clue, Xiaomi 15 ultra owns the 25 ultra with freaking 3 year old 200 mp hp3 Sensor which U can get in 200€ redmi Note 😂
Additionaly super fast 45w Charge . Samsung only makes good Display and Long Software Support. Loses everywhere else
Hyperos actually is very good and customizable in the deepest bit to Look Like a completly different os. Cant customize that much anywhere else.
https://preview.redd.it/kqs93kfjbe1f1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e54ec506bad8137167f4801e168aa32a3e197670
To be honest If U make Bad Photos with the 15 ultra u clearly suck in Shooting since U can get the best Photos even possible with the lytia-900
I am a long time Samsung Ultra user S21U and S23U (my backup phone). I have used almost every Pixel through the 7 Pro.
This phone puts the Samsung cameras to shame.
I think to get the most out of this camera system, you have to understand photography and know how to use the settings. I haven’t encountered the issues you describe. My pictures are fantastic and the Photography Kit is unmatched.
The Pixel sounds like a better choice for someone that just wants a simple point and shoot picture taker and doesn’t want to learn photography.
In basic mode, you can meter on the face or average.
Turn on motion tracking focus and you will never miss a shot.
In Pro mode you have auto exposure settings allowing for all the standard metering techniques; center weighted, frame averaging, or spot.
Fastshot gives you tons of flexibility.
In the general settings you get access to all the expected Leica settings. Focus peaking, histogram, and exposure verification. For long time Leica users, this will feel completely natural and intuitive to use.
This is a very powerful camera system and it is really difficult to take a bad photo.
As a user of the 15 Ultra, it kinda seems like you didn’t bother trying to learn how to use the camera and expected it to be a point and shoot, which it is decent at but definitely not its strength.
Yes, HDR isn’t the greatest, but it usually strikes a realistic balance. Not that over processed and sharpened result from typical Samsungs (dad uses a S25 Ultra and I consider his camera inferior).
The focusing distances of all the cameras are different, hence your supposed focus issues (which Xiaomi stated pretty clearly on their specs).
Video is great, and usually not as noisy as the Samsung tends to get (again, comparing to my dad’s S25 Ultra). Sometimes the Dolby Vision HDR can be weirdly processed so I don’t always use it.
HyperOS is extremely quirky and definitely not perfect. Some settings and information aren’t where one would think they are (like data limits are in the Security app for whatever reason) and silly bugs like the “battery remaining” sometimes being inaccurate. It’s the one area that Samsung’s OneUI is clearly superior to. Did you get the global model? Because connection and notifications shouldn’t be an issue with that, at least not for the majority of users I’ve interacted with regarding the phone.
I’m sorry you didn’t appear to have a good experience with the Xiaomi, but if you came in with the mindset that it should have worked more or less like a Samsung which is geared towards mainstream and somewhat basic audiences, then it was never going to be positive in the first place.
You don’t any idea comes to phone software though there are certain issues in hyperos in general it’s fantastic. It’s way better than that vivo software which is shit. Customer support depends upon region you live. General xiaomi support is much better than vivo though cannot compare with Samsung. Videos are actually way superior than vivo and somethimes better than Samsung i am using Xiaomi 14.
Currently using the S25 ultra and battery life is terrible.
My previous phone was getting 10 hrs SOT comfortably and now I’m sitting at 5 to 6 hrs SOT
HyperOS is definitely very customizable, but that doesn’t mean it’s stable or good for the average user, which is the goal of a mass-produced phone. You can always root it and fix a lot of the issues, but it shouldn’t be necessary. As for the photo aspect you mention, I acknowledged the software is second to none, but the software as I explained means they are not really getting the best out of it.
I think if you take the same picture side by side with the Samsung you’ll realize there’s not that big of a difference, and in some aspects again, like HDR or focus the Samsung will be best. Xiaomi is better in other things like ultra zoom and fine detail, sure, but it doesn’t wipe the floor with the Samsung at all, and really how often do you take x100 zoom pictures of things. I’m not saying it doesn’t have cool features like the super macro or some leica settings, but again, the res of the bad things don’t make up for the small camera upgrade.
And believe me I definitely know my way around a camera and I have taken pro mode pictures in both phones (it’s true the xiaomi allows more customization in this) but like I said, in pro mode there are things you just can’t do without further editing so it’s not really practical in the day to day. And if you are looking for professional level photography you might as well just get a camera. So I don’t see the point in this phone unless they improve point-and-shoot software to make it more competitive in the day to day.
I cannot speak for the vivo because, as I said, I haven’t tested it. But I can definitely say HyperOS is WAY worse than Samsung or Pixel software. Way worse. And custome support is also worse. That means that they have to be much better at everything else to make up for it, and as I mentioned in the post, the xiaomi is not that good. It’s a little better in some things, sure, but not that big of a deal. And it costs the same also.
Mate, I’m not a Samsung fanboy, I literally switched from Samsung to this phone because I thought the s25 was a bit disappointing. And after trying it, I’m telling you it’s not that good in comparison. Software is bad, battery life is very similar, display is actually worse as you say yourself, support is also worse, and the rest is about equal. Even in the camera it’s not always better, it also loses in some things. I will probably go back in 1 or 2 years or to some other brand.
Sounds to me like you are actually a bit of a xiaomi fan boy yourself.
I don’t know about the S25 ultra, but with the S24 ultra, I was getting close to the xiaomi, perhaps 1 or 2 hours less of SOT, though it didn’t get as hot. I reckon there is a bigger difference with the Chinese version, of course, since it has a bigger battery.
https://preview.redd.it/5pd7nb7epf1f1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3ae79d53eb9dfb76e09be935703ae31d83ff775
Did you actually bother to understand hyperos at all. Yes it has it’s downsides but no more than one UI in some aspects or Vivo or any other brand software. You can say that it lacks features in which one UI is more rich but that’s all. And you can have a phone to mute with or without vibrations but you need to turn on the brain. You first chose do you want vibrations to be turned on or off than chose sound mode. Sound modes (silent or sound on) are separated from vibration mode. You need to try a little harder sometimes
You never owned a Xiaomi, pure disinformation
I’m not questioning your expertise or the review, but it feels like this might be less about an issue with the 15 Ultra itself and more about being accustomed to Samsung’s color science. Sometimes, the difference in output can feel hard to accept if you’re used to a certain look.
I personally own the 15U and the user experience has been fantastic. I even compared it side by side with the S25 Ultra before purchasing, and for basic point-and-shoot photos, the difference was like day and night in favor of the 15U, in my view. But of course, it might just come down to personal preference.
I had been a Samsung user for 6 years. Before getting the Xiaomi 15U, I was using the Samsung S23U, which is still a very good camera phone today.
When I first got the Xiaomi, I initially thought its camera capabilities weren’t that exceptional.
But then I made the effort to learn how to use it better. And what a result! The phone takes incredible photos, and I was able to do a direct comparison with my old Samsung since I still have it. The Xiaomi is better by far.
Today, I have absolutely no regrets. On the contrary, I’m having a blast taking photos with it.
exactly.
Yea cant deny It using Xiaomi since Mix 2 where IT wasnt even aviable outside China so yea im a Fan .
I give u the Display is better but If im Not mistaken the Xiaomi 15u Display is Provided by Samsung and even gets brighter. If u dont Like calibration u can adjust to saturated Like Samsung or P3 Like Apple.
Well IT was Just my thoughts didnt got hands on 15 ultra Just thought IT has to be a improved to my 14 ultra . But Main camera is Same and i captured best Photos with IT .
But i can compare my 14u to 25u of My Brother and the camera owns IT.
But yea i guess Software is preferences Samsung oneui has IT Advantages and is very Long supported.
Hyperos is optical Like Apple and U have to Like it. What i Love at hyperos Is ITs customizability. U can literally Change Its optic to Look exactly Like Samsung/ Google or Like mine a persona 5 amoled theme.
But yea maybe u better Go with Samsung.
Xiaomi Point and shoot is good but ITS Not ITS best category but If U get a Bit into the Leica Software IT gives u the Most freedom of any camera Software and u can literally get Results which u dont believe are from a Phone .
But youre right Software could still improve
Why are there no photo samples? I am a vivo user myself, but it is surprising to see such a bad review for a model with this hardware. As readers, we can at least get an idea or make recommendations by looking at the samples. Also, if you are just pressing the shutter button and shooting, Samsung is probably the best brand because it applies more saturation and sharpness than its competitors. While this is a bad thing for many people interested in photography, it can be good for those who only press the shutter button for social media.
I have the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and it is a real beast!
The cameras are a luxury and are outrageous. Honest opinion, I would buy it again!
This is exactly my experience coming from a S21U and having the wife’s S24U for comparison. After I’ve learned to play around with EV adjustments outside of pro mode, the pictures became great. I get that Xiaomi’s handling of auto EV should be improved, but in some situations it’s actually great to have an easy slider to adjust it to my liking.
HDR is not always active, and there is no way to leave it always on like on the Pixels, but I’ve noticed that it usually turns on more often when using Leica vibrant mode, as opposed to authentic. The latter most of the time gives you a more contrasty look, close to a digital camera (with no HDR).
I have no bloatware at all on the EU 15U, but I’ve seen comments about Global and Chinese version having a lot. But in my case, I had much less pre-installed apps when compared to Samsung’s.