Xiaomi 15 Ultra might offer three high-end finishes including ceramic

With the buzz surrounding the Xiaomi 14 series starting to fade away, users’ eyes are turning to Xiaomi’s forthcoming flagship range, the Xiaomi 15 series.

The most promising rumour so far is that these devices could mark the debut of Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset, alongside whispers concerning new periscopic telephoto cameras for the Xiaomi 15 Pro and 15 Ultra.

Here’s everything we know so far about the Xiaomi 15 series, including its release date, pricing and potential features.

When will the Xiaomi 15 be released?

Xiaomi is yet to reveal any news regarding its next generation of flagship phones. For context, here’s when the previous models launched:

• Xiaomi 13 – December 2022 (China), March 2023 (global)
• Xiaomi 12 – December 2021 (China), March 2022 (global)

Based on this, we’d expect Xiaomi 15 series to be unveiled in December 2024 in China, before a global launch in March 2025, likely just ahead of the annual Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona; as the company has done previously.

However, the rumours about it being the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 phone could change things. Qualcomm’s next flagship mobile chip is almost certain to be announced at its Snapdragon Summit, across 21-23 October, so it could arrive sooner than usual in China. GSMArena believes that could mean an October launch.

We expect to see three models: the Xiaomi 15, Xiaomi 15 Pro and Xiaomi 15 Ultra, however, the Xiaomi 15 Pro might never leave China, as was the case with the Xiaomi 14 Pro.

And as with all Xiaomi phones, don’t expect any of the 15 series to ever be sold in the US. Your best bet there will be to try and import one.

How much will the Xiaomi 15 cost?

As with the release date, there aren’t yet details regarding how much each new model will cost, so we look to the precedents for clues.

Here are launch prices of the previous generations:

• Xiaomi 14: £849/€999 
• Xiaomi 14 Ultra: £1,299/€1,499 
• Xiaomi 13 Lite: £449/€499 
• Xiaomi 13: £849/€999 
• Xiaomi 13 Pro: £1,099/€1,299 
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra: €1,499 
• Xiaomi 12 Lite: £419/€395 
• Xiaomi 12: £749/€849 
• Xiaomi 12 Pro: £1,049/€1,049 

There were slight price increases in the 13 range compared to the 12 series, but the 14 series kept the same pricing year-over-year. We think it’s likely that Xiaomi will stick to around the same tiers when the Xiaomi 15 range arrives, as their established price ceiling is already pretty high. That being said, according to a Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station, the Xiaomi 15, Xiaomi 15 Pro and Xiaomi 15 Ultra could, in fact, all be pricier than their predecessors. It’s not clear how much more expensive, though.

In a recent post by Zou Jiachen on Weibo, the leaker claims that the Xiaomi 15 will start at CNY 4,599 ($632) for 12GB RAM/256GB storage and will cost up to CNY 5,499 ($756) for 16GB RAM/1TB storage. Furthermore, the Xiaomi 15 Pro could potentially start at CNY 5,299-5,499 ($728-756) for the base model, peaking at CNY 6,299-6,499 ($866-894) for the top configuration.

What specs and features will the Xiaomi 15 have? 

According to Digital Chat Station, the Xiaomi 15 series entered the next phase of internal testing in April and mass production is scheduled to start in September this year. Ahead of that, the full spec sheets of both the Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Pro were leaked by Zou Jiachen on Chinese site Weibo.

Design 

Notebookcheck unveiled details about the fingerprint scanner in the 15 series, indicating a shift to single-point ultrasonic technology; away from the optical fingerprint technology used in the Xiaomi 14 series. 

Ultrasonic fingerprint recognition – functioning by way of ultrasonic waves beneath the screen – generally delivers better security and reliability; usually proving faster, more accurate and more resistant to water. For context, Samsung already uses ultrasonic fingerprint sensors on its Galaxy S range. Zou Jiachen also stated that both phones (referring to the 15 and 15 Pro) will likely offer an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

According to a Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will offer three different back material options: fake leather, glass, and ceramic, adding more choices compared to its predecessor.

Display 

In December 2023, Digital Chat Station stated (via Gizmochina) that the standard Xiaomi 15 would maintain a 6.36-inch display size, akin to the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 14. Unlike the Pro variant, Xiaomi doesn’t intend to adopt a curved panel for the standard model. The leak also suggests the screen will offer a peak brightness of 1,400 nits and power-efficient 120Hz LTPO refresh rate technology.

Chinese leaker Zou Jiachen agrees that the Xiaomi 15 will have 6.36-inch “1.5K” touchscreen, with a 120Hz refresh rate and will offer 1,400-nit brightness in High Brightness Mode (which differs from peak brightness).

In the same post – along with the one from June 2024 (via GSMArena) – Digital Chat Station has additionally disclosed details about the forthcoming Xiaomi 15 Pro. 

It’s rumoured to feature a “2K” resolution micro-curved screen, like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and with even slimmer bezels compared to the Xiaomi 14 Pro, reducing from 0.9mm to an impressive 0.6mm. Zou Jiachen states in more detail that the phone will feature a 6.73-inch “2K” screen, with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,400-nit output in High Brightness Mode.

Performance 

Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset is anticipated to debut in October, likely powering a slew of top-tier mobile devices. 

According to Yogesh Brar – a usually reliable source – Xiaomi apparently has an exclusive deal to use the chipset first. That means the Xiaomi 15 series is likely to be the first to feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. 

https://twitter.com/heyitsyogesh/status/1782643566424264712

According to the recent Weibo leak, we can indeed expect that both the Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Pro will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Additionally, we learned that they might offer up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, paired with up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 internal storage.

Cameras 

Reportedly, Xiaomi plans to employ the Omnivision OV64B in the Xiaomi 15 Pro: a 64Mp sensor seen in various POCO, Redmi and Xiaomi smartphones, including the Poco X6 Pro. However, while the Poco X6 Pro uses this sensor as its primary camera, the Xiaomi 15 Pro is rumored to utilise it for periscope telephoto capabilities instead. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra may feature a 200Mp periscope camera, with a variable zoom length of 3x to 5x magnification.

Despite these changes, it’s expected that the primary cameras will remain at 50Mp. GSMArena says “the Xiaomi 15 and 15 Pro will both feature a customised OmniVision 50mp main snapper, with a 1/1.3-inch sensor size and a large (but undisclosed) aperture”, which was based on Digital Chat Station’s post on Weibo from May.

A more recent DCS Weibo post (also via GSMArena) claims that the Xiaomi 15 Pro will include a new 50Mp single aperture main camera, with a “super large” sensor; replacing the variable aperture of its predecessor. Additionally, it might have a 50Mp 3x telephoto periscope zoom camera and could be slightly thinner.

According to another post from Weibo, the Xiaomi 15 will feature three 50Mp snappers: an OmniVision OV50H main sensor (1/1.31-inch), 50Mp ultrawide camera and 50Mp Samsung ISOCELL JN1 3x zoom lens (1/2.76-inch). On the front there will be a 32Mp selfie camera.

On the other hand, the Xiaomi 15 Pro will reportedly get a 50Mp OmniVision OV50N main sensor (1/1.3-inch, f/1.4 aperture), a 50Mp Samsung JN1 ultrawide camera and an unnamed 3x optical zoom periscope telephoto 50Mp sensor (1/1.95-inch), plus a 32Mp selfie camera. Both phones might also feature a new multi-layer anti-reflective coating, which is supposed to enhance light transmittance and reduce glare and ghosting.

Battery & charging 

According to Notebookcheck, the Xiaomi 15 and 15 Pro are said to be equipped with high-density batteries.

Spec sheets leaked by Zou Jiachen on Weibo specify that the Xiaomi 15 might feature a 4800 to 4900mAh battery, with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging, while the Xiaomi 15 Pro might offer 5400mAh cell, with 120W wired and 80W wireless charging.

However, the Xiaomi 15 was recently certified in the 3C database (via MySmartPrice), confirming its 90W wired charging, matching its predecessor. Details on wireless charging are not disclosed, but it may remain at 50W like the Xiaomi 14.

As a reminder, the Xiaomi 14 is powered by a 4,610mAh battery, supported by a speedy 90W wired charging option and 50W wireless charging. On the other hand, the 14 Pro is equipped with a 4,880mAh battery and supports 120W wired charging and 50W wireless.

A 5,300mAh battery in the 14 Ultra is significantly larger than the 14 Pro’s 4,880mAh cell, though 90W wired charging is actually slower. To compensate, there’s 80W Qi wireless charging. 

Software 

The Xiaomi 15 series will most likely be available with Android 14 and Xiaomi’s HyperOS skin out of the box. However, given the expected December release date in China, it is also very possible that it will debut with Android 15 on board.

This is all we currently know about Xiaomi’s upcoming flagships. We will update this article when we learn something new. In the meantime, see our guides to the best phones and the best Xiaomi phones to see what the Xiaomi 15 series will be up against.