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Geek Culture
17-05-2025
- Geek Culture
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
As mobile photography hardware and software continue to improve, the competition has never been fiercer. From flagship models from Apple and Samsung to various offerings from leading Chinese brands like Vivo, Oppo, Huawei and Xiaomi, there's a healthy spread of options for cutting-edge smartphone camera technology, with the brands looking to grab a slice of the mobile device pie. On a positive note, nothing looks set to change as the Xiaomi 15 Ultra remains committed to mastering the craft of imaging. Like its predecessor, the high-end device packs the power of renowned image maker Leica into an everyday carry, making mobile photography more accessible and convenient, and allowing anyone to capture quality snaps without the heft of the German company's legendary cameras. This time, the rear shooters are arranged slightly differently than before, marking a distinction in appearance amid a strong overall improvement in all-around performance. While housed in the same protruding circular cutout, the symmetry of the previous camera array is now gone. Instead, three of the lenses have been pushed nearer to the bottom of the cutout's frame, which may be awkward and unsightly for some, with the lopsided look bleeding into the Silver Chrome edition. There's a reasonable justification for that, though, as the blend of a silver finish and faux leather is designed to evoke the old-school Leica aesthetic. The large protruding module is also where a familiar gripe resurfaces. In addition to constant rocking on a flat surface, the top-heavy build causes fatigue after prolonged use, especially when held horizontally in one hand and particularly for individuals with smaller hands. Indeed, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is fairly robust at 229 grams and 9.48mm thick (versus 226 grams and 9.35mm on the black and white iterations), making it heavier than the previous generation and the Samsung S25 Ultra. The 227-gram iPhone 16 Max Pro is closest to its weight, but the difference in your hand feels more stark than expected. At a time when curved displays have been largely ditched, it's interesting that the device still adopts one. Despite efforts to reduce the curvature, it can dull some of the shine for those who prefer straight edges, as the chunky bezels translate to a thicker bar on the sides, and by extension, a break in immersion. Look past the nitpicking, however, and visual enjoyment awaits. The 6.73-inch AMOLED screen pairs a WQHD+ resolution (3,200 x 1,440 pixels) with a 120Hz refresh rate to deliver vibrant colours, sharp detail, and smooth motion in various shows and movies. It's standard fare for flagship offerings, accompanied by other notable features like a maximum brightness of 3,200 nits, eye-care tech, and IP68-rated water resistance with reinforced glass protection. Powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and an Adreno 830 GPU, mobile gaming is a breeze as the Xiaomi 15 Ultra proves capable of handling heavy GPU loads, running titles like Wuthering Waves , Honkai: Star Rail , and Zenless Zone Zero smoothly. Putting it through in-house testing yielded minimal frame drops and stutter, with its impressive thermal management emerging as a surprise standout and recording some of the lowest temperatures to date. The headliner, though, continues to be the Leica-branded camera system. Where all four lenses were 50 megapixels (MP) previously, the periscope camera has now been upgraded to 200 MP and the same one-inch-type Sony LYT-900 image sensor from last year's model is back at work on the main snapper, joining the full list of specifications below: 50 MP, f/1.6, 23mm (wide), 1.6µm, 1.0'-type, OIS 50 MP, f/1.8, 70mm (telephoto), 1/2.51', 0.7µm, OIS, 3x optical zoom 200 MP, f/2.6, 100mm (periscope telephoto), 1/1.4', 0.56µm, OIS, 4.3X optical zoom 50 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 115° (ultrawide), 1/2.76', 0.64µm, dual pixel PDAF TOF 3D There are several other tweaks to the formula that, while negligible for the general crowd, may catch the attention of photography enthusiasts and professionals. For starters, the zoom distance on the periscope and telephoto cameras is slightly reduced, coming in at 4.3x and 3x, respectively, versus 5x and 3.2x on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Additionally, removing variable aperture – a rare and underrated feature in itself – means some loss in versatility here. It's more of a strange performance downgrade than a dealbreaker, and in practice, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra still upholds the impressively high standards attached to the Leica name. Visuals appear punchy and natural in good lighting without the oversaturated tint seen on some of its contemporaries, especially with the Leica Authentic profile. Leica Vibrant offers an alternative for those who prefer a stronger pop of colour, but crisp detail and pin-sharp clarity can be expected in either scenario. Portrait Mode is most intuitive with a human subject in frame, and capturing the desired effect for, say, objects or pets, will require more effort in certain situations. Once users get into the swing of things, soft and creamy bokeh becomes a regular occurrence, making it easy for the foreground to stand out. The organic depth of field benefits macro photography experiences like food snaps, though it should be noted that edge detection isn't the best here, resulting in the occasional fuzzy and inaccurate feathering. Where the Xiaomi 15 Ultra harnesses its expertise is in contrast. It proves competent at finding the perfect balance between deep shadows and highlights, especially in Pro mode, reinforcing the ease of capturing visually arresting images. White balance remains inconsistent at times, so there may be instances where washed-out photos evoke the imagery of a post-apocalyptic setting. The camera fares well enough in dark or dimly lit environments, even if the loss of detail is more prominent and its images are noticeably darker than the competition. Supermoon Mode adds a touch of fun to the mix, offering the point-and-shoot convenience of up to 120x zoom and AI-powered post-processing. While there are some kinks to iron out, the handset delivers beastly Leica prowess in spades and can be paired with a separate photography kit for a more authentic compact camera experience. Also introduced with last year's model, it includes a case, a grip with a shutter button and a settings dial, an integrated 2,000mAh battery, and a 67mm adapter ring – perfect for users of ND (short for neutral density) filters, circular polarisers, or other forms of photography filters. The grip, like before, offers added friction for a more secure and comfortable fit in hand, and attaching or removing it remains a snappy, fuss-free affair. It slots in neatly, with the easy-to-hit shutter button transmitting a welcome tactile response when pressed. In particular, the bundle comes highly recommended for street or travel photography, so long as users are willing to fork out another S$199 and lug the extra heft around. Leaning into the artificial intelligence (AI) push, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra touts new and improved features for writing, image editing, and day-to-day tasks. It's nothing new, but the AI Writing suite ships with options for summarising, proofreading and tonal changes, joined by a prompt-based generative text tool and transcription capabilities, which, depending on the job (like a journalist, for example), can be handy. On the imaging side of things, generative AI acts as the driving force behind expanding or sharpening an image and removing unwanted subjects in a scene. Remove Reflections is the latest addition to the roster, and it fails to work its magic in the same way Apple, Oppo, and Samsung devices did. The bigger caveat here, however, is the need for an internet connection to run these features (yes, even the transcription tool). As is the standard for current Android offerings, Google Gemini and Gemini Advanced are available right out of the box, granting access to Gemini Live, Circle to Search, and more. Running HyperOS – Xiaomi's Android skin – atop Android 15 means the Xiaomi 15 Ultra also suffers from the same bloat and annoyances found on its other Chinese-branded counterparts, from preinstalled apps that cannot be removed to burying tasks beneath unnecessarily complicated menu navigation. Battery capacity isn't too shabby, packing more juice than its predecessor. It comes in at 5,410mAh, and for unknown reasons, is smaller than the Chinese variant (6,000mAh), but can last through a typical work day with little fanfare. Keeping in mind that mileage will vary depending on individual use case and load, performing day-to-day tasks like surfing social media, replying to emails, and chatting in communication apps, interspersed with watching videos, playing games, and other interruptions, clocked around eight hours of use. Charging is snappy, taking slightly longer than an hour to hit 100 percent from zero. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra may be a pricey proposition at S$1,699 for the base 512GB model, but its powerful hardware, impressive display, and most importantly, exceptional camera performance promise a great return on investment. While the well-rounded showing certainly boosts its appeal, the biggest purchasing factor should be its mastery over mobile photography that few can match. Ironically enough, this also means the device may not be ideal for casual users or enthusiasts, as they are likely to find better value elsewhere. Instead, serious shutterbugs are the best fit here. Summary The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is one beast of a powerhouse that will serve users well, especially those who can fully harness its mobile photography prowess. Aesthetics - 8/10 Build Quality - 9/10 Performance - 9/10 Value - 8/10 Geek Satisfaction - 8.5/10 Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth's theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia's greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really. Android Review Smartphone Xiaomi Xiaomi 15 Ultra
Android Authority
09-05-2025
- Android Authority
I tested four camera phones and the Samsung Galaxy S25 still has a shutter lag problem
Ryan Haines / Android Authority Although Samsung's flagship smartphones take great pictures, they've not been without issues in recent years. Shutter lag probably tops the charts of recent user annoyances; a slight delay between pressing the shutter and the picture capturing can make it hard to capture fast-moving subjects. Samsung has seemingly reduced the shutter lag issue with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but in my experience, the problem still pops up on occasion — usually when you really wish it wouldn't. I didn't need to retest like we did for the Galaxy S24 Ultra's shutter lag to know it's still there; I've been chasing two toddlers around with the Galaxy S25 Ultra for a few weeks and ended up with multiple blurry pictures. Pictures that I certainly feel would have turned out a lot better on some of the other brilliant camera phones I've tested so far this year. While certainly not noticeable in every picture, as soon as you're trying to capture the action, it feels like you need to be able to see a split second ahead to keep everything in-frame. If you're not fast enough, you risk your subject ending up at the edge of the frame, a blurry mess, or sometimes both. Not that either picture below is terrible, but hopefully, they illustrate the framing problems I've been having with Samsung's latest Ultra flagship. Now, shutter lag comes in two parts: the lag you can really feel is the delay between the button press and the actual photo showing up in the gallery. This can be caused by sluggish autofocusing, memory latency, or chip communication delays. Either way, it's perhaps the most annoying and challenging to combat because it messes up your framing. Even though you swear you lined up your pets, kids, or anything speedily passing by in the middle of the frame, the end result is off-center or even out of frame. The other part of shutter lagisn't always so obvious and often looks a lot like an overly long shutter speed, but a delay in the time it takes actually to capture the image is usually what produces a blurry-looking result. This can result from an overly long shutter speed, but equally, the time taken between multiple frames used for HDR and computational photography has an impact, too. So even if the shutter speed is quite fast, too many frames taken too far apart to construct an HDR image can still produce blurring and artifacts. Combined, you've got all the makings of photos that come out way worse than you envisioned. Galaxy S25 Ultra shutter lag may be improved, but it still shows up when it's least welcome. Knowing exactly what's a phone-specific issue or something that applies to other handsets is tricky. To see if this shutter lag I've been feeling is exclusively a Galaxy S25 Ultra problem, I grabbed the Pixel 9 Pro XL, Find X8 Pro, and Xiaomi 15 Ultra. Of course, capturing action shots side-by-side from four phones would be pretty difficult without two extra arms. Instead, I concocted a simple game to test them: photographing a car whizzing down a simple kids' toy. My rules were simple: just three chances to try and get the car in the middle of the frame. Here's how it went. Pixel 9 Pro Pixel 9 Pro Pixel 9 Pro Find X8 Pro Find X8 Pro Find X8 Pro Xiaomi 15 Ultra Xiaomi 15 Ultra Xiaomi 15 Ultra Galaxy S25 Ultra Galaxy S25 Ultra Galaxy S25 Ultra My reflexes might not be super quick these days, but the three test phones all shared a very similar theme: I sometimes felt like I was pressing the shutter slightly too soon. Despite eyeballing the car in the middle of the frame, my first snaps actually ended up being taken a bit too early on all these phones. You might think I was preempting the lag, and while that might be part of it, most phones are built to compensate for shutter delay by 'shooting ahead.' In fact, the OPPO Find X8 Pro gallery preview shows the post-processing reverting to an earlier, sharper frame than the one obtained at the shutter tap. Preemptively taking photos before the shutter press is sometimes called zero-shutter lag, where the phone constantly takes pictures even before you press the shutter. It's the key to keeping these phones feeling responsive during action shots. Google even uses this technique to let you return and pick your preferred shot after it's been taken. By comparison, the Galaxy S25 Ultra was the only phone where I repeatedly missed the subject. If I waited until the car was in the middle of the frame, it would always be gone by the time the photo was actually captured. Eventually, I managed to grab one in the center, but only by anticipating the lag rather than the phone capturing it as I pressed. Of course, you don't get three chances to capture the action in real life, which explains exactly why I've been feeling so let down by the S25 Ultra in the real world. Galaxy S25 Ultra Pixel 9 Pro Find X8 Pro Xiaomi 15 Ultra The photo results above showcase the other half of shutter lag: how long it takes to capture and process the image once the button is actually pressed. We can see a small amount of motion blur on the Find X8 Pro and a bit more on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, while the Pixel 9 Pro is pretty blur-free, though this comes at the expense of slightly higher ISO and noise. For whatever reason, be it a longer shutter speed or slow multi-frame processing, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra takes a far blurrier picture than its rivals. While the other phones show only minor blur, it's virtually impossible to distinguish that this is even a toy car in the Galaxy S25 Ultra snap. Given that most users will shoot with auto-settings most of the time, they'll see this sort of problem crop up time and again compared to rival handsets. Case closed: I definitely wasn't imagining it when I felt the Samsung flagship took too many blurry or delayed pictures compared to other camera-oriented flagships I've tested this year. How to fix Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra shutter lag Ryan Haines / Android Authority There are a few ways to combat the dreaded Galaxy shutter lag. The first is to shoot using the Pro mode or Expert RAW to manually reduce the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO levels to reduce the likelihood of motion blur and help ensure sharpness for moving subjects. This is good photography practice for action shots anyway, but it is hardly ideal when you just want to break out a quick snap. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to help reduce the actual shutter delay. A popular option is to use the Good Lock module called Camera Assistant and enable the Quick tap shutter option. This claims to speed up capture by taking the picture as soon as you press the shutter button, which you'd think would be the default behavior anyway. Thankfully, this seems to help with the capture time, making the phone feel more like the zero-shutter lag rivals I tested here. If anything, you have to shake off the pre-emptive muscle memory you develop shooting with a Galaxy or you'll end up taking action shots a little too soon, so it clearly works. However, this doesn't resolve the motion blur issue, and this feature doesn't seem to work reliably (if at all) for photos captured in Pro mode or Expert RAW, which continue to feel delayed, so you can't use it in combination with a manually reduced shutter speed. Samsung's burst mode is the best hedge to capture action shots. Perhaps the most foolproof idea is to use the burst mode built into the default camera app. This option isn't immediately obvious, but you can take a massive number of burst photos by swiping down and holding the on-screen shutter button for as long as you need. There's still an initial shutter delay, but you can start shooting slightly ahead of time and still be safe knowing that you'll end up with a result that's in—or close to—the center of the frame. The trick is just to remember that this feature is there when you're in the heat of the moment, and then have the patience to sort through the burst photos to find the best one afterward.
