Xiaomi 15T Review: Quality Without Innovation

Value When Reviewed

Not obtainable within the US

Finest Costs In the present day: Xiaomi 15T

Xiaomi’s newest sub-flagship sequence is right here, and it guarantees to match flagship options with extra cheap costs.

I examined the Xiaomi 14T final yr, and it made an amazing impression, so I had excessive hopes for the brand new fashions.

On paper, the 15T doesn’t disappoint. It contains a newer, quicker processor, a bigger battery and an even bigger show with a slimmer bezel. It additionally has a fetching new look and a few novel software program options.

It’s not all excellent news, although. The show isn’t as shiny, and it has a barely decrease refresh charge as properly. It doesn’t appear as if the digital camera {hardware} has had upgrades both.

So, is the Xiaomi 15T price contemplating, or do it’s essential shell out for the 15T Professional to see actual advantages? I’ve been testing it to search out out and you’ll evaluate my findings to our assessment of the Xiaomi 15 T Professional.

Design & Construct

• Glass again, plastic body
• 194g, Corning Gorilla Glass 7i
• IP68 rated

The Xiaomi 15T seems virtually fully equivalent to its Professional sibling. It’s precisely the identical dimension and form, besides that the LED flash unit is in a unique place. On the 15T, it’s a part of the digital camera island, whereas on the Professional, it’s off to at least one facet.

Luke Baker

Regardless of wanting the identical, the 2 telephones really feel completely different. The Xiaomi 15T Professional has an aluminium body, whereas the usual 15T has a plastic body. This implies you don’t get that cold-metal really feel whenever you decide it up, and it additionally means the cellphone is considerably lighter. It weighs 194g, in comparison with 210g.

Personally, I don’t thoughts a plastic body. Certain, it doesn’t really feel as premium however, as I mentioned, it’s lighter. Plus, sometimes, the body stays cooler when gaming, which is a plus.

You continue to get the identical IP68 ranking for mud and water resistance, the identical Gorilla Glass 7i coating on the display, and the identical glass fibre rear panel. When it comes to sturdiness, I wouldn’t count on there to be an enormous distinction between the 2 fashions. Each get a really comparable black TPU case within the field for added safety, too.

Luke Baker

The Xiaomi 15T is available in three metallic color choices, regardless of their plastic components: Black, Grey or Rose Gold. I’ve the Grey mannequin in for testing, and whereas it doesn’t make an excessive amount of of a press release, it seems very slick {and professional}.

It’s price noting that this is a reasonably large cellphone, and its boxy, iPhone-like design makes it really feel bigger nonetheless. I’ve huge palms, so it wasn’t a problem for me, however in the event you don’t, this cellphone may really feel a little bit unwieldy.

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.83-inch 1280 x 2772 OLED 120Hz
• 3200 nits peak brightness, 3840Hz PWM dimming
• Stereo audio system

The show is a particular spotlight of this cellphone. It’s huge, totally flat, and has a slim, symmetrical bezel on all sides. It’s an OLED panel with a easy 120Hz refresh charge, and it boasts the identical 3200 nits peak brightness as its Professional counterpart. It may possibly’t match the Professional’s 144Hz refresh charge, however in actuality, I don’t suppose most individuals are going to note that.

Luke Baker

If you happen to’re delicate to display flicker, an even bigger distinction is that the Professional mannequin has DC dimming, whereas the 15T makes use of PWM. In principle, the Professional must be extra comfy to take a look at with low brightness ranges, however as I’m not delicate to flicker, I can’t actually remark.

In any case, the 15T nonetheless affords high-frequency 3840Hz dimming, so it’s a lower above most on the subject of eye safety. It has additionally been awarded TUV Rheinland’s Low Blue Mild, Flicker Free and Circadian Pleasant certifications.

The panel regarded nice, it doesn’t matter what I used to be viewing, and HDR10+ and Dolby Imaginative and prescient content material solely made it look higher. The darkish areas are deep and detailed, whereas the highlights are dazzling and lifelike. There are a great deal of choices for customising the color copy too.

Luke Baker

The cellphone has twin stereo audio system, with one firing from the earpiece and the opposite from the bottom of the cellphone, subsequent to the USB-C port. They sound virtually equivalent to the 15T Professional. The soundstage is respectable, they usually can get astonishingly loud, however the bass copy isn’t the perfect.

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 8400-Extremely
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB storage

The Xiaomi 15T Professional is powered by the Dimensity 8400-Extremely, the identical 4nm chip we’ve seen in units just like the Poco X7 Professional. It’s not fairly flagship-level efficiency, however for most individuals’s wants, it’s greater than highly effective sufficient.

Luke Baker

To sweeten the deal, you get a beneficiant 256GB of storage as commonplace, and 12GB of RAM for all of your multitasking wants.

Typically talking, the cellphone feels lightning fast. I by no means seen any stuttering or slowing after I was swiping across the OS, switching between a number of apps and scrolling social media.

It’s solely when enjoying a demanding sport that you just’ll actually discover the distinction between this and a correct flagship chip. For instance, I performed lots of Wuthering Waves on the Xiaomi 15T Professional, and I used to be capable of max out all of the settings with out difficulty. Nevertheless, on this cellphone, I wanted to make use of the “Balanced” preset and play at 30fps for an optimum expertise. It might nonetheless play at larger settings, however it might start to stutter throughout intense scenes.

Luke Baker

After all, this solely issues in the event you’re into graphically difficult titles or aggressive video games like PUBG Cell. For extra informal gaming, this cellphone is greater than succesful. Plus, it by no means received too sizzling, even when attempting to run these tough video games, which is all the time a bonus.

Benchmarks

Cameras

• 50 Mp f/1.7 most important digital camera
• 40 Mp f/1.9 2x telephoto
• 12 Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide
• 32 Mp, f/2.2 selfie digital camera, fastened focus

The Xiaomi 15T sports activities the Mild Fusion 800 picture sensor for its most important digital camera; it’s the identical one which the Poco F7 Extremely makes use of, so we’ve already seen that it’s able to wonderful outcomes. Nevertheless, it’s a smaller sensor than the Professional mannequin, so it’s unlikely to match it in low-light conditions.

Luke Baker

You additionally get the identical 12Mp ultrawide and 32Mp selfie digital camera because the Professional, however the telephoto is way much less spectacular, providing solely a 2x optical zoom.

The 46mm equal focal size of the telephoto is a helpful one, and I typically discover it preferable to the comparatively huge most important digital camera. Nevertheless, the shortcomings are plain to see. The minimal focus distance is fairly poor, and whereas the default digital camera app makes it appear like you’re utilizing the telephoto digital camera, in case your topic is shut up, it’s probably simply cropping into the principle digital camera as a substitute.

The issue is compounded by the truth that the principle sensor isn’t notably nice for macro pictures, and the ultrawide doesn’t have autofocus. So, if you wish to shoot macro, your solely actual choice is a digital crop of the principle sensor. It won’t matter to everybody, however I discovered it disappointing.

The cellphone can be nowhere close to as spectacular because the Professional mannequin for long-range zooms. It’d look higher at its native 2x, however the degradation is straightforward to see at 5x, and it solely will get worse as you push in direction of the utmost 60x digital zoom.

That mentioned, the Xiaomi 15T can nonetheless take nice images. It nonetheless advantages from Xiaomi’s partnership with Leica, and which means you get entry to the identical wonderful Leica-tuned color profiles and bokeh simulations as Xiaomi’s flagship units.

There are nonetheless some surprisingly superior video options, too. You may document in LOG when utilizing the Professional video mode, and even apply LUTs inside the digital camera app. This was current on the 14T as properly, nevertheless it solely labored on the principle digital camera; now you are able to do it with all of the rear lenses.

You may document at as much as 4K 60fps on the rear trio, whereas the selfie digital camera helps as much as 4K 30fps. Sadly, although, there’s no 4K 120fps mode – that’s solely obtainable on the Professional.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5500 mAh battery
• 67W wired charging
• No charger included

The Xiaomi 15T packs a 5500 mAh cell, similar to the Professional variant. Nevertheless, it doesn’t assist wi-fi charging, and the wired charging pace is decreased to 67W. Neither mannequin comes with a charger within the field, only a USB-C cable, so that you may have to issue that into the worth in the event you don’t have an appropriate adapter already.

Our normal battery benchmark, the PCMark Work 3.0 Battery Drain check, exhibits that the Xiaomi 15T doesn’t final fairly so long as the Professional, however a rating of over 14 hours is nothing to be sniffed at. And actually, in use, I barely felt the distinction.

Luke Baker

I used to be nonetheless capable of obtain two days on a cost after I used it extra conservatively. In any other case, a day and a half gave the impression to be fairly widespread. In any state of affairs, the Xiaomi 15T will get you to the tip of the day, after which some, which is all you actually need.

Plus, whereas the charging pace could have been nerfed on this mannequin, it’s nonetheless very fast. Half an hour on the charger takes you to round 65% charged, which may be very straightforward to stay with. After all, I’d have cherished to see wi-fi charging added to the equation, however at this worth, that’s nonetheless very unusual.

Software program & Apps

• Hyper OS, primarily based on Android 15
• Xiaomi Astral Communication
• Xiaomi HyperAI

The Xiaomi 15T runs a closely customised model of Android 15 referred to as Hyper OS. It’s the identical software program that you just’ll discover on all current Xiaomi and Poco handsets, and in the event you’ve used Hyper OS earlier than, you gained’t be in for too many surprises.

Luke Baker

Hyper OS is a divisive working system; it modifications lots of the Android fundamentals and takes a little bit of inspiration from iOS, too. I’ll admit that it takes some getting used to, however as soon as I did, I discovered it very straightforward to stay with.

It has among the most in-depth customisation choices of any Android pores and skin. So, if there’s one thing you don’t like within the default configuration, you possibly can probably change it. I particularly get pleasure from what number of apps it lets me cram onto the homescreen.

One criticism I totally perceive although, is of the quantity of junk that comes preinstalled. There are folders stuffed with really helpful apps, and extra first-party apps than any model ought to actually need. Fortunately, cleansing them up is straightforward, as Xiaomi permits you to choose a great deal of apps without delay, nevertheless it’s a problem nonetheless.

Luke Baker

As for what’s new, there’s one thing that Xiaomi calls Astral Communication. It permits you to make voice calls between two Xiaomi 15T units with out the necessity for mobile reception. I’ve struggled to fulfill up with individuals at festivals this yr when the community will get overloaded, and it is a potential answer.

This cellphone ought to be capable of make calls over distances of 1.3km when free from obstructions, however partitions and timber will restrict that distance. I gave it a fast strive, and it really works as marketed, however the truth that it solely works on Xiaomi 15T units will restrict its attraction. I’m certain Xiaomi will roll this out to different handsets sooner or later, and when it does, it’ll probably make Xiaomi a really interesting choice for hikers and explorers. Actually, right here’s why we predict it’s a game-changer.

Value & Availability

The Xiaomi 15T has the identical MSRP as its predecessor. It begins at £549/€549 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, extending to £599/€599 for the 512GB mannequin.

In both case, it’s about £100 cheaper than the Professional mannequin. That mentioned, the Professional justifies its worth properly, including an aluminium development, wi-fi charging, a extra highly effective processor and a formidable 5x telephoto to the equation. The correct one for you’ll all rely in your private wants and you’ll evaluate it to our high suggestions in our round-up of the perfect mid-range telephones.

The Xiaomi 15T is accessible to order straight from Xiaomi’s official retailer or by way of a third-party reseller comparable to Amazon. It’ll be extensively obtainable within the UK and Europe, however as normal, you’re not prone to discover it within the US.

If you happen to get in early, Xiaomi has a variety of particular launch affords operating till 31 October, together with bundles that embody a free 43-inch Hearth TV and Xiaomi 90W quick charger.

Must you purchase the Xiaomi 15T?

The Xiaomi 15T is a well-specced cellphone at a really reasonably priced worth, and for these causes, I can see it being a well-liked choice. I believe the brand new design seems nice, and in the event you can ignore the plastic body, you could possibly simply mistake this for a flagship handset.

The issue is that it doesn’t convey lots to the desk in comparison with final yr’s 14T. Certain, there’s a more recent processor, an even bigger battery and the display is bigger, however the display isn’t as shiny or speedy, and the cameras haven’t seen a lot development. Comparatively, the 15T Professional has seen rather more of an improve, boasting a recent 5x periscope telephoto and 4K 120fps recording capabilities.

The bottom Xiaomi 15T continues to be an amazing cellphone, it’s simply not as thrilling, and homeowners of the 14T will probably see little cause to improve. That’s, until you’re within the new Astral Communication characteristic, which is presently unmatched available in the market. It’s a really helpful addition, however the truth that it solely presently works between 15T-series units will severely restrict its attraction – hopefully we’ll see extra Xiaomi units undertake the usual sooner or later.

Specs

• Hyper OS, primarily based on Android 15
• 6.83-inch 1280 x 2772 OLED 120Hz
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Extremely
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB storage
• Digicam:
• 50Mp most important sensor
• 12Mp ultrawide
• 50Mp 2x telephoto
• 32Mp selfie digital camera
• As much as 4K @ 60fps rear video
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM + eSIIM
• Wi-Fi 6e
• Bluetooth 5.2
• 5500mAh battery
• 67W wired charging
• 163.2 x 78.0 x 7.50mm
• IP68 licensed
• 194g
• Colors: Black, Grey, Rose Gold