It Xiaomi 14 Ultra It was one of the most exciting phone releases of 2024 thanks to its stellar camera setup that allowed it to take amazing images. It packed a 1-inch image sensor that's physically larger than almost any other smartphone camera sensor, and that made all the difference. That larger size, along with a wide, variable aperture, allows more light to be captured to produce some of Best results I've ever seen from a camera phone.

It also featured a top-notch processor for lightning-fast performance, a bright display and a battery that lasts the best part of a day.

But the tech world hasn't been around for long and there are already rumors of what we might see from its successor, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. Here's what we know about this potential photography powerhouse. We'll update this article in the coming weeks and over the months as more rumors emerge, so be sure to check back regularly to learn more about the phone.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra release date and price

14 Ultra was announced in China in February and was first shown to Western press, including CNET Mobile World Congress 2024 in February in Barcelona. It was only at the end of March that I was able to get my hands on one for testing.While Xiaomi has yet to confirm the phone's launch date, all signs suggest that the company is planning similar dates for the future.

It has already been completed for the base Xiaomi 15 and 15 Pro for the Chinese market. The 14 Ultra went on sale in the UK for £1,299, and while it's not officially on sale in the US, that price is $1,640. will be sitting in that yard.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra cameras

Xiaomi's Ultra series has always focused on photography, with the 14 Ultra packing not only a huge image sensor, but also a variable aperture and an impressive 5x optical zoom , early leaks confirm this.

Famous bodyguard reports Ice Universe that the 15 Ultra's periscope telephoto camera will have a massive 200-megapixel image sensor, a huge step up from the 50-megapixel sensor found on the 14 Ultra. Ice Universe also says the optical zoom will drop from 5x to 4.4x, though the extra resolution will likely allow for further digital zoom without a noticeable loss of quality.

This change to the telephoto camera unit appears to be supported by leaked images of the phone from SmartPrixwhich show the off-center camera unit above. Further leak image (via GSM Arena) purportedly showing the internals of the camera setup shows it being off-center to make room for its large periscope unit. The images, if accurate, also confirm the ongoing relationship between Xiaomi and Leica, so expect that high-quality lens optics and various color Leica presets will spice up your images.

So far there are some other rumors about the remaining cameras, including any changes to the main camera and its 1" type sensor. I certainly hope that Xiaomi will continue to use at least this sensor size, if not even bigger, and maintain its variable aperture, which can go from wide open at f/1.6 to tighter at f/4, resulting in; attractive starbursts around points of light at night.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra processor, display and battery

Given that the 14 Ultra has packed the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, when it launches, it can be assumed that Xiaomi will equip its new model with Qualcomm's next-generation silicon.Qualcomm took the wraps Snapdragon 8 Elite in Octoberand we expect to start seeing it in most flagship phones coming out in the next six months.

In addition to the expected overall speed boost, the 8 Elite processor promises improved web browsing speed and is specifically targeted at AI tasks, including on-device AI tools such as Samsung's Galaxy AI.At its launch event, Qualcomm demonstrated AI , a tool that adds artificial lighting to your selfies, which CNET's David Lamb chimed in "nice fun and useful" when he tried it for himself We expect to see a number of AI tools on Xiaomi's 15 Ultra, both for image manipulation and virtual assistance.

Rumors suggest that the 15 Ultra's display will remain 6.7 inches like the 14 Ultra's, though the battery could be expanded to 6000 mAh instead of 5000 mAh case remains to be seen, as the 14 Ultra had a slightly larger battery size for the models sold in China.

The phone is expected to continue to offer 90W wired charging, though I'd like to see the company take it further. Some of Xiaomi's other phones, including the 2021 11T Pro, offer 120W fast charging, and it's disappointing not to see such speeds in the company's most expensive models.