I replaced my $ 3,500 Sony camera with an Android phone 200MP – and the results took me off guard

The moment I unpacked the Xiaomi 15 UltraI knew I was in trouble. While the flagship product had been launched in China earlier this year, its world debut at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in March increased flags among its Android competitors – and perhaps also Apple.

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I tested the phone for a little less than a month, after exchanging my simsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Samsung, and as every day passed, I found it more difficult to go back. I have partly t-movable to thank for that, like most international phones as maintained Xiaomi just Enough GSM-based cellular strips to make calls, messages and navigation on LTE work here in the United States.

Other reasons range from the new Periscope 200MP camera (it’s more than a simple marketing gadget) to industrial design and a surprisingly fluid software experience. In other words, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is perhaps the best versatile phone that I have tested so far. But even then, the reasons to move on to her are just as clear as the reasons for looking elsewhere. Here is the ventilation.

With the 15 Ultra, you don’t have to look far to understand how Xiaomi wants to sell you. The absolute island of a camera bump requires attention, you look at it directly or you feel the weight when you hold the phone.

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But do not let it be distracted from the rest of the equipment, which, according to Xiaomi, has become much more durable than the model of last year, from the Shield Glass 2.0 for better drop protection to the Gorilla Glass 7i superposition with high resistance which protects the rear cameras. Subtile grooves on the power button are a nice touch.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is also heavier than its predecessor – a surprising turn given the recent trends on thin devices – probably due to the updated cameras and the largest battery capacity. At 226 grams, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is always lighter than the iPhone 16 pro max but significantly heavier than the Galaxy S25 Ultra (218g). The curved dimensions make the phone much more manageable than the more flirtatious aesthetics of Samsung.

The food for this year’s model is the Elite Snapdragon 8 chip from Qualcomm, which, when associated with 16 GB of RAM and a rather well optimized hyperos skin on Android, offers a catchy and almost flawless software. I will always hit Xiaomi for excessive bloatware, including preloaded applications like WPS Office and Aliexpress. But beyond that, the device almost never drops the executives, even when I use it after having executed landmarks. It is so optimized.

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For loading, you look at 90 W RIDE and 80 W Wireless Notes, which are not global records but essentially twice as fast as the best phones in the United States (without oneplus), you will need the appropriate load brick to reach faster load speeds, but efficiency is worth it. It is simply regrettable that Xiaomi reduced its battery to a capacity of 5,400 mAh when the Chinese version of the 15 Ultra has a size of 6,000 mAh.

Now, for the elephant in the room: Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. I’m kidding. The Quad-Caméra configuration of Xiaomi 15 Ultra is one of the most competent I tested, and I say “one” because its domestic rivals, like the Vivo X200 Pro, are just as good.

Although Xiaomi has kept most of the camera equipment in the same way this year, including Leica-Partnered and Brand Optics, it has made subtle but significant improvements at all levels. The main objective 50MP always captures the subjects with a dynamic and depth beach level that only an inch sensor can reach, and I am a big fan of the ultra raw image capture, which preserves the details when I modify to Lightroom. However, the new 200MP Periscope objective has become my default shooting tool.

It is a big bump of 50MP sensor specifications from last year and the pixels added help when you capture photos in low -light environments or that you want to reframe afterwards. Just know that the optical zoom has been shortened at 4.4x 5x, which can take some time to get used to it if you come from an iPhone or a Samsung with 5x.

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I tested the 200MP camera for portraits, landscape plans and the recording of cinematographic video in pro mode, and the results made me consider removing my $ 3,500 Sony A7S III. Although the phone can take a few more seconds to make and process the images fully, which means that you will not see the final blow just after capturing it, the results just have the right amount of natural, sharpness and contrast with my taste.

That is to say that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a phone that would have a sense of having a dedicated camera / trigger. Putting a under the power button will also encourage users to stabilize the phone (and the upper camera bump) with their index, which leads to a more comfortable and reliable capture experience.

ZDNET purchase advice

As is the case with all the global variants of phones (read: those who are not officially sold in the United States), you will have to export the Xiaomi 15 Ultra To use one. It is currently sold 1499 EUR, around 1,555 USD. This does not have the imminent high charges due to recent American rates. So if you want one of the best phones on the market, you will have to pay to play.

Fortunately, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is one of the easiest phones to recommend to users and technology enthusiasts, thanks to its capable camera system and to attack specifications. At this point, I could even use only the phone to capture product plans and videos for work instead of my larger Sony camera.

This article was initially published on March 2, 2025 and was updated on April 5, 2025.