After Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite, many companies got ready to launch flagships based on the new chipset. Xiaomi did or rather it unveiled two-thirds of its new flagship series – the vanilla and Pro models, while the expected Ultra model should arrive a few months later.
Common features between the two Xiaomi models definitely include the new chipset and a much larger battery capacity than the 14-series, thanks to silicon-carbon technology.
Xiaomi 15 and 15 Pro at a glance
The Xiaomi 15 Pro also has a new 120mm periscope (5x) for its 50MP telephoto camera, up from 75mm on the previous generation. The battery capacity is 6,100mAh, which is 220mAh larger than the previous model. Wired charging slowed down a bit to 90W (down from 120W), but that shouldn’t make much of a difference. Wireless charging remains at 50W.
A few more things to mention – Xiaomi is using stronger glass in-house for the screens and the two new phones now support 8K@30fps video recording (the previous generation could only do this at 24fps). Additionally, both phones ditched the optical fingerprint reader in favor of an ultrasonic one.
The vanilla Xiaomi 15 also has a bigger battery – 5,400mAh (adding an impressive 790mAh to its predecessor’s capacity). That’s an impressive amount of power for a phone with a 6.36” display. With its thin bezels, it’s one of the smaller Android flagships, on par with the Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro. The vanilla model misses out on the tele camera upgrade and only has a 60mm lens.
There are multiple variants available, but the vanilla Xiaomi 15 (12/256GB) is priced at CNY 4,500 ($630), while the Xiaomi 15 Pro (12/256GB) is priced at CNY 5,300 ($745). Both of these will almost certainly be available globally, we just don’t know when or how much they will cost.
Xiaomi 15 • Xiaomi 15 Pro
Xiaomis will be competing against other Snapdragon 8 Elite based flagships as well as flagships opting for the Dimensity 9400.
Such as Vivo X200 Pro and Pro Mini. The X200 Pro has a smaller lens (85mm) but the telephoto camera has a higher resolution 200MP, allowing smooth zoom. The main camera is a 50MP 1/1.28” sensor. It also has a 6,000mAh battery with 90W/30W charging.
The Vivo The battery is 300mAh larger at 5,600mAh and supports 90W/30W charging.
The Vivo X200 Pro (12/256GB) matches its Xiaomi rival at CNY 5,300 ($745), while the Vivo
Vivo X200 Pro • Vivo X200 Pro Mini
The Oppo Find X8 and X8 Pro also chose the Dimensity 9400. The Oppo Find It is powered by a 5,910mAh battery with 80W/50W charging.
The Oppo Find It has a triple 50MP camera (losing the 135mm tele, retaining the 73mm). Its battery has 5,630mAh capacity and support for 80W/50W charging.
The Oppo Find
Oppo Find X8 Pro • Oppo Find X8
We also expect the OnePlus 13, Realme GT7 Pro, and iQOO 13 to be unveiled soon, all with the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
OnePlus 13 • Realme GT7 Pro • Vivo iQOO 13
What do you think about the Xiaomi 15 Pro – your next phone or maybe you want to wait until the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is revealed? Or will you skip Xiaomis altogether?
What about Xiaomi 15? It’s not small, but it’s small by Android flagship standards. Plus, at least on paper, it has better cameras, a bigger battery, and faster charging than the Galaxy S24 (and the latter two if you get the Pixel 9 Pro instead).
