Xiaomi 15T Pro Review
If you’ve ever wanted a Leica camera in your pocket (that allows you to make a call or slide a DM to your friend), the Xiaomi 15T Pro might be your answer. Co-engineered with Leica, this phone puts a versatile triple-lens system in your hands, complete with a 5x telephoto zoom. With a Dimensity 9400+ chip and a bright 144Hz screen, the Xiaomi 15T Pro is a complete upgrade from its previous iteration. Here’s a closer look at what it brings to the table.
Build and design
The Xiaomi 15T Pro feels premium and clean, with flat sides, a flat back, and a tidy camera island that does not stick out too much. It gives off an iPhone 16 Pro Max vibe without the super prominent camera bump, which many will appreciate for pocketability and balance.
The Mocha Gold finish stands out. The minimalist look lets the rest of the package shine, like the strong camera system and fast software. The frame uses 6M13 aluminum alloy and the phone has IP68 protection, so it can handle water and dust for daily use.
At 7.96 mm and about 210g, it is slim for a big-screen phone. Gorilla Glass 7i protects the front, and the glass fiber back cuts weight while keeping a solid feel. The unified camera design looks neat, and the rounded corners make it comfortable to hold.
Display
The 6.83-inch AMOLED is bright and sharp. Peak brightness reaches up to 3200 nits for HDR peaks and about 1800 nits full-screen, so it stays readable outdoors in direct sun. Color accuracy is tight, with factory tuning that targets low ΔE and JNCD values for faithful tones.
Resolution sits at 2772 × 1280 (1.5K), which is a good balance between crispness and battery life. The screen hits 144 Hz refresh with up to 2560 Hz instant touch sampling that feels fast when scrolling and gaming. Dolby Vision and HDR10 support make streaming look rich and punchy.
Eye comfort is addressed with full-range DC dimming and triple TÜV Rheinland certifications for low blue light, flicker-free, and circadian-friendly modes. The ultra-narrow symmetric bezels improve immersion without edge touch issues.
Hardware
MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400+ powers the phone, and it is a strong flagship chip built on 3 nm. CPU clusters with Cortex-X925 and big X4/A720 cores bring fast single-core and multi-core performance. The Immortalis G925 GPU has hardware ray tracing for newer titles.
LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage keep app loads and multitasking smooth. Xiaomi’s 3D IceLoop cooling expands vapor chamber area and graphite coverage to hold performance longer while spreading heat across the frame. In daily use and under load, the phone stays steady.
Astral Communication adds the Surge T1S tuner and a high-performance antenna array. Wi‑Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, dual‑SIM 5G with DSDA, and eSIM support round out connectivity. Xiaomi Offline Communication enables device-to-device voice calls without cellular or Wi‑Fi once enabled via OTA. This phone is really packed with the necessary connectivity upgrades than some households do not even have at the moment.
Benchmark
Two benchmark tools worked during my testing. PCMark Work 3.0 scored 17,327, which reflects strong performance for productivity, web, photo editing, and data tasks. In Geekbench 6, scores were 2,568 for single-core and 7,685 for multi-core, which align with a modern flagship tuned for both burst and sustained loads.
These numbers match what the Dimensity 9400+ and the cooling solution suggest. They are not synthetic highs only seen for a minute, since the cooling helps maintain clocks. For context, app launches, background tasks, and camera processing happen fast and without slowdowns.
Software and other software features
HyperOS 2 ships at launch with an upgrade path to HyperOS 3 based on Android 16. The visual design is cleaner, animations feel unified, and the new Always‑On and island‑style UI pieces are subtle but helpful. Performance tweaks from HyperCore keep interactions tight.
HyperAI adds system-level tools that save time. AI Search can find files, photos, notes, and messages with natural language and even summarize results. AI Gallery Search helps surface the right shots with smart curation. AI Writing extends into third‑party apps for quick edits and rewrites.
The Recorder app transcribes in real time with speaker ID, summaries, and easy translation. AI Interpreter handles live translation for face‑to‑face and calls. The photo editor adds AI Enhance, Expand, Erase Pro, and Remove Reflection for fast fixes. Cross‑device features like Home Screen 2.0, Smart Hub camera sharing, Link to Windows, and expanded Mac/iOS interconnectivity make it easy to work across screens.
Camera
This is the Xiaomi 15T Pro’s best trick. The triple camera is co‑engineered with Leica: a 50 MP main with a Light Fusion 900 sensor and Summilux optics, a 50 MP 5x periscope telephoto with OIS, and a 12 MP ultra‑wide. The main sensor’s dynamic range and low-light output are strong.
Leica profiles and Master Portrait bring tasteful color and depth, and Leica’s street photography mode adds fast capture with classic focal choices like 28 mm and 35 mm. In-sensor zoom to 28/35/46 mm on the main camera keeps quality high without lens hopping.
Still photos look detailed with natural contrast. Skin tones avoid heavy smoothing, and the color pipeline is consistent across lenses thanks to AISP 2.0. The 5x telephoto is sharp for portraits and distant subjects, and UltraZoom 2.0 can push beyond 20x when needed with usable results.
Video
Video tops out at 8K30 on the main camera. 4K120 is available for crisp slow motion. There is 10‑bit Log recording up to 4K60 on the main and tele, and HDR10 at 4K across all rear lenses. This gives editors plenty of headroom for grading or a ready‑to‑share look.
There is noticeable extra crop when moving from 1080p to 4K and then 4K to 8K, which is expected given sensor readout needs. Enabling Shootsteady adds additional crop to stabilize the frame further. Even with that, video looks impressive with good detail and steady exposure.
Audio capture is clear through the triple‑mic setup with Dolby Atmos playback on the stereo speakers. For creators, the consistency across focal lengths and the option to import LUTs for Log builds a useful mobile pipeline.
Audio
Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos sound big for a slim device. Dialogue in shows is easy to follow and highs avoid harshness at top volume. The phone supports Hi‑Res and Hi‑Res Wireless standards for compatible headphones.
Bluetooth 6.0 improves stability with modern codecs, and Astral Communication’s antenna system helps avoid dropouts in crowded areas. For calls, mic pickup is reliable and background noise stays under control.
Battery
The 5500 mAh battery is large for this thickness. With the 3 nm chip and OS-level efficiency, endurance is strong. In real use as a daily driver, starting at 85 percent around 2:15 PM, navigating from Chiba to Makuhari Messe and then to Ginza, taking photos, and using maps until around 8 PM, the phone still had 37 percent left on return to the hotel. No battery top‑ups were needed during the day.
Charging is fast at 90W wired to full in about 36 minutes and 50W wireless to full in about 56 minutes. The Surge P3 and G1 chips manage safety and longevity, with over 1,600 cycles while keeping more than 80 percent capacity. Extreme cold start and quick‑start charging add reliability in rough conditions.
Gaming and thermals
While the phone is not marketed as a gaming phone, the Dimensity 9400+ runs games well. My emulated copy of the Steam game Silksong ran smoothly and felt very responsive at 57-60fps, which shows the CPU and GPU have headroom even outside native Android titles. The 144Hz display and high touch sampling help with control response.
Thermals are well managed by the 3D IceLoop system. Heat is spread evenly, so hands do not hit a hot spot on longer sessions. It does feel hot sometimes, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. Frame rate stability holds up in action games and during long recording.
Just a couple of notes
The 1.5K resolution is a smart efficiency play, though some will still prefer full 2K on a screen this size. The ultra‑wide sensor is only 12 MP, which is fine in daylight but falls behind the main and telephoto in low light. The video crop when stepping up to 8K and with Shootsteady can force a step back to keep framing.
Leica color is tasteful, but users who like punchy AI‑boosted tones may want to toggle profiles. HyperAI features are deep, yet some require plugin downloads and permissions the first time, which adds setup steps.
Verdict
The Xiaomi 15T Pro is a flagship that keeps things clean. The Mocha Gold design looks refined without shouting, and the phone focuses on real wins like camera quality, smooth performance, and strong battery life. It feels like an iPhone 16 Pro Max alternative in hand feel, minus the big camera bump, and that is a good thing.
Camera and video features are the highlight. The Leica 5x telephoto, Summilux main, 8K30, 4K120, and Log/HDR10 build a creator‑ready tool that delivers. The Dimensity 9400+ handles work and play without fuss, and the strong PCMark and Geekbench results back it up. Battery life and 90W charging make daily use easy.
If you’re someone who needs a flagship camera phone with polished design, a bright 144Hz display, and forward‑looking AI features, the Xiaomi 15T Pro undoubtedly nails the brief. It is not a gaming phone by label, though it plays like one thanks to the chip and cooling. If a minimal look, Leica color science, and reliable endurance are priorities, this belongs at the top of the shortlist.
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
