I Took Hundreds of Photos With the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. These Are My Faves

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra, which launched globally at MWC 2025, has a triple-camera setup with a large 1-inch type camera sensor at its heart. It's a potent camera setup and I was keen to put it to the test. I've taken hundreds of images in my testing time so far, across multiple countries and even in the Arctic. 

Here's a selection of my favorites, and be sure to check out the full Xiaomi 15 Ultra hands-on for a lot more information on the phone. 

Taken with the main camera, this image is colorful and sharp. 

I love the contrast and colors on this shot from the main camera.

Using the telephoto zoom, I've been able to get closer up on this street performer in Edinburgh. The details look great.

I love using this phone's high-contrast black-and-white mode. It gives a punchy look that's great for street photography. This one was taken with a telephoto lens.

Even with a high zoom level, the details still look nice and sharp.

I love the black-and-white look the phone provides using any of the lenses. This time, it's the main camera.

And here it's using the ultrawide.

Using the zoom and focusing on this person's phone gives a nice out-of-focus background to this scene. 

This JPEG looks gloomy.

But I was shooting in Pro mode so I had the DNG raw file to work with. After a bit of Lightroom work, I've been able to craft a much more pleasing image that shows off the lovely sunset colors. The 15 Ultra's files capture a lot of information.

This edited raw file of my sweet ball of orange fur has come out nice. I love that the phone has kept the shadows nice and deep rather than trying to artificially lift them as many phones do.

This night-time edited raw file was taken with the telephoto zoom. It's pin-sharp.

Another night time scene, this time taken with the main camera in JPEG. The exposure is good and details are crisp. 

I also like this night shot taken in the arctic.

While the phone does a great job at night, it lacks the variable aperture of its predecessor so the street light here doesn't have the attractive starburst that I'd have hoped for.

Good exposure, good colors. Nice work.

Another good night shot taken with the main camera lens.

The wide aperture and big sensor help capture sharp details in indoor low-light scenes too.

The telephoto zoom has helped create a nice out-of-focus area behind this couple.

I love monochrome street photography and the 15 Ultra remains one of the best phones for it.

For more about the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, check out my hands-on story. If you're into photography, you need to read about Xiaomi's concept phone with a detachable camera lens.