Announced at MWC 2025, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra promises to offer users a next-gen photography experience, but how does it compare to Apple’s premium iPhone 16 Pro Max?
Although we haven’t reviewed the Xiaomi 15 Ultra yet, we have spent time with the iPhone 16 Pro Max and not only awarded the phone a near-perfect 4.5-star rating but also hailed it as one of the best iPhones and best smartphones.
To help you decide between the two powerhouses, we’ve compared the specs and highlighted the key differences between the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and the iPhone 16 Pro Max right here.
Pricing and Availability
Following its launch at MWC 2025, the recently launched Xiaomi 15 Ultra is available with a starting RRP of £1299.
Perhaps surprisingly, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the cheaper of the two with a starting RRP of £1199/$1199.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs A18 Pro
One of the biggest differences between the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max, other than their respective operating systems, is with their processors. While the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, like many of the best Android phones, runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, the iPhone 16 Pro Max runs on Apple’s own A18 Pro.
Although we haven’t reviewed the Xiaomi 15 Ultra yet, we have spent time with a few handsets that bear the same chip and have been seriously blown away by its performance. Not only does everything from casual scrolling to intensive gaming run smoothly on the likes of the OnePlus 13, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite has achieved impressive benchmark scores and even surpassed the A18 Pro.
Even with that in mind, it’s still worth pointing out that the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a seriously powerful phone. In fact, we stated in our review that to call it “rapid would be an understatement” with buttery smooth animations, near-instantaneous photo capture and a solid gaming experience too.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra has four rear cameras
Xiaomi has partnered with camera brand Leica and promises that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will offer “pinnacle photography”. Its quad rear camera setup certainly sounds impressive on paper, consisting of a 50MP primary camera backed by a massive 1-inch sensor, a 50MP floating telephoto, a 200MP periscope telephoto and a 50MP ultrawide lenses. This setup is rounded up by a 32MP front camera.
Not only does Xiaomi promise the 15 Ultra will take high-quality images, but users can also record up to 8K at 30fps or 4K at up to 120fps. This is not to be sniffed at, especially considering the iPhone 16 Pro Max reaches 4K at a lower 60fps but is favoured by many content creators.
Otherwise, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has three rear cameras: a 48MP main, 48MP ultrawide, and a 12MP periscope telephoto lens. Flip the handset over, and you’ll find its 12MP selfie snapper.
When compared to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, it’s fair to assume that the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s cameras sound lacklustre, especially considering the 200MP vs 12MP periscope lens. However, this is not necessarily the case, as we found its camera capture to be “pretty much flawless”. In fact, we were particularly impressed with the periscope lens and found the colour and light to be consistent with what you capture from the main lens.
Considering the iPhone 16 Pro Max is sitting as one of our best camera phones, we are seriously intrigued to see how well the Xiaomi 15 Ultra measures up.
iPhone 16 Pro Max has a bigger display
If you prefer a larger phone, the iPhone 16 Pro Max might be better suited for you. It measures in at 6.9 inches, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Although the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is slightly smaller, at 6.73 inches, it certainly can’t be classed as a small phone. The display also has a 1-120Hz LTPO-enabled refresh rate, can reach up to 3200 nits peak brightness for outdoor use, and is TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certified, which means it’s easy on your eyes.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a Super Retina XDR display and ProMotion technology, which is Apple’s term for an LTPO-enabled 1-120Hz refresh rate. It also has a seriously impressive 92.3% screen-to-body ratio with ultra-slim bezels, which means content viewing feels uninterrupted.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra has faster charging
While Apple undoubtedly does a lot right, fast charging isn’t necessarily one of them, especially when compared to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra (or the majority of the best Android phones).
While the iPhone 16 Pro Max supports 45W wired and up to 25W MagSafe charging, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra instead supports up to 90W wired and a whopping 80W wireless.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, however, still boasts an admirable battery life, which we found has the potential to last up to two days.
Regardless, neither handset comes equipped with a charger, so it will need to be purchased separately.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra comes with more RAM
Like the other handsets in the iPhone 16 series, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has just 8GB of RAM. Although 8GB is usually enough to ensure the best tablet or smartphone runs smoothly, it’s worth pointing out that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has double the amount, at 16GB.
Otherwise, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is available with either 512GB or 1TB of storage, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max buyers can choose between 256GB, 512GB or 1TB.
Early Verdict
As we haven’t reviewed the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, it’s difficult to compare it fairly to the 4.5-star iPhone 16 Pro Max. Considering both promise photography prowess, serious power, and an immersive display, perhaps the biggest deciding factor between the two would be whether you want an Android or iOS smartphone.
We’ll be sure to update this once we’ve reviewed the Xiaomi 15 Ultra to give you a more conclusive answer.
