Xiaomi has made a name for itself by shaking up the smartphone market, delivering high-performance devices without the premium price tag. The Xiaomi 15 5G aims to continue that legacy, promising flagship-level power, sleek design, and cutting-edge features — all while staying relatively affordable. As someone who has followed Xiaomi’s evolution, I was eager to see if this device truly lives up to the hype.
Xiaomi 15 5G: Design
The Xiaomi 15 5G stays true to the design language of its predecessor, the Xiaomi 14 (Review), featuring a familiar square-shaped camera module. This time around, however, Xiaomi has refined the look, making it feel more polished and premium. Also, the phone is now noticeably lighter, adding to its comfort during daily use.
In a market flooded with oversized flagships, I genuinely appreciate is its compact form factor—it fits perfectly in my hand, making one-handed use feel effortless. It’s certainly refreshing to use a phone that’s powerful yet so easy to handle.
I had the black variant for review, which comes with a matte finish that not only looks sleek but also feels premium in hand while resisting fingerprints. Xiaomi has clearly put thought into both aesthetics and usability, making the design one of its strong points.
At the front, the Xiaomi 15 5G sticks to a flat display, but this time, it’s taking things up a notch by adopting a new LIPO display technology. This advancement allows for noticeably slimmer bezels — trimmed down by 20% — giving the phone an even more immersive look without increasing its overall size.
The display itself is based on a 6.36-inch AMOLED panel that’s nothing short of impressive. With its sharp 2670 x 1200 pixels resolution, everything from videos to app icons and UI elements appears crisp and well-defined. The fast 120Hz refresh rate also makes scrolling feels silky smooth, and allows animations to flow seamlessly.
What really stands out, though, is the exceptional 3200 nits peak brightness, which means even under harsh sunlight, the screen remains clear and vibrant. Whether I’m streaming movies, gaming, or simply navigating through the interface, the display delivers a top-tier experience that’s hard to fault.
Xiaomi 15 5G: Performance
Of course, the Xiaomi 15 5G isn’t just about sleek look — it delivers top-tier performance too. Powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform, the same chipset found in most of the recent high-end devices like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Review), this phone handles everything I throw at it without breaking a sweat. Whether I’m gaming at high settings, editing videos on the go, or simply jumping across dozen of apps, performance feels consistently fast and fluid.
What truly impresses me is how well Xiaomi’s new IceLoop cooling system works. Even during extended gaming sessions, the phone stays surprisingly cool, and I didn’t notice any major drops in performance. Xiaomi has clearly engineered this device for optimal performance, making it a great choice for power users who want to avoid issues like overheating and throttling.
Battery life is also one of the Xiaomi 15’s strong suits, thanks to its sizeable 5,240mAh battery. Whether I’m gaming, streaming videos, or multitasking throughout the day, I can confidently go from morning to night without scrambling for a charger.
With Xiaomi 15’s 90W HyperCharge, recharging is lightning-fast too. Just five minutes of charging gives hours of use, while a full charge takes only around 45 minutes. Wireless charging is equally impressive, with the phone’s 50W wireless HyperCharge offering one of the fastest cable-free charging experiences on the market.
Xiaomi 15 5G: Cameras
On the imaging side of things, the Xiaomi 15 5G is equipped with a highly capable triple-cam system co-developed with German Optic Specialist Leica. It’s lead by a flagship-grade 1.31″ 50 megapixels main camera that uses Xiaomi-custom Light Fusion 900 imaging sensor which boasts an impressive 13.5EV high dynamic range alongside a native 14-bit colour depth.
Right from the first snap, I noticed how well it captures fine details while keeping colours rich and natural. Leica’s influence is clear, especially in the way colours are handled. Unlike some phones that crank up saturation, the Xiaomi 15 keeps things realistic yet vibrant.
Low-light shots are just as impressive, with remarkable clarity and precise exposure as the phone leverages advanced computational photography to intelligently process images to reduce noise and optimize light capture, ensuring sharp and vivid photos even in low-light settings.
Taking mobile photography further, the Xiaomi 15 also boasts a highly capable 50MP telephoto camera that supports 2.6x optical zoom and up to 60x digital zoom. Once again, I was blown away by how effortlessly it captures distant subjects with incredible detail, whether I’m zooming in on a far-off landscape or capturing the fine details of a building.
In fact, even at high zoom levels, the image quality stays impressively sharp, almost as if I’m using a professional camera lens. It’s a reliable companion for those moments when you want to get closer to the action without being physically there.
Xiaomi 15 5G: Verdict
Starting at just S$1,099, the Xiaomi 15 5G easily stands out as one of the best value-for-money flagship phones in the local market. Despite its affordable price tag, it doesn’t feel like a compromise in any way. In fact, after spending time with it, I can confidently say it holds its own — and in some cases even outshines — other flagship devices that cost significantly more.
For those who’re interested, the Xiaomi 15 5G is available for purchase in Singapore through mi.com, Shopee, Lazada, Xiaomi stores, and other authorized resellers.
