Xiaomi 15 Ultra: fresh renders show 'challenging' camera layout

Fresh renders have emerged showing Xiaomi's next flagship phone, the 15 Ultra. We usually take leaked renders with a pinch of salt, but these have come from a source that has reliably produced phone renders that have turned out to accurately depict the final retail product.

Read more: Xiaomi 14 Ultra full review

In the case of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, the main talking point of its rear panel is the layout of the huge camera island. Rather than arrange its four camera modules in some sort of symmetrical pattern, Xiaomi has opted to place three lenses in one row, and the fourth above, but off-center.

This upper lens is said to be the periscope telephoto camera. Periscope lenses require space across the width of the phone's chassis to house the periscope section of the lens, as this runs at right-angles to the front-facing lens element. It therefore makes sense that no other modules are placed directly alongside the periscope lens, but the result is the whole camera array looks asymmetrical and visually troubling, especially as Xiaomi has drawn attention to it by making the circular camera island so prominent. It's also worth noting that the Xiaomi 14 Ultra also has a periscope telephoto module, yet Xiaomi managed to integrate it in a symmetrical pattern alongside the 14 Ultra's other camera modules.

At least the 4.3x periscope camera is said to feature a new 200MP sensor - a record-breaking pixel count for a telephoto module - courtesy of Samsung's 1/1.4” ISOCELL HP9. Positioned beneath this in the camera array is rumoured to be a 50MP Sony sensor that forms the basis of the 15 Ultra's primary, wide-angle camera, while the remaining two modules are claimed to be a 50MP ultrawide and a 50MP 2x telephoto module.

Elsewhere, the rumor mill has speculated that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra could sport a 6.7-inch, 120Hz, 2K LTPO micro quad-curved display and a 32MP selfie camera. At the heart of the phone is said to be a Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, powered by a 6,000mAh battery supporting 90W wired and 80W wireless charging.

Do take all these specs with some scepticism though, as the Xiaomi 15 Ultra isn't due for release until February 2025. We're likely to see lower models in the Xiaomi 15 line-up later this year though, possibly even before the end of October.

Story credit: Smartprix.com