Xiaomi 15 Pro: A Flagship with a Price Hike, Is It Worth It?

Xiaomi 15 Pro: A Flagship with a Price Hike, Is It Worth It?The Xiaomi 15 Pro, the latest flagship in the Xiaomi numbered series, has attracted attention due to its price increase before its launch. Lei Jun admitted that the rising costs of processors and storage forced them to raise the price of the new phone

Xiaomi 15 Pro: A Flagship with a Price Hike, Is It Worth It?

The Xiaomi 15 Pro, the latest flagship in the Xiaomi numbered series, has attracted attention due to its price increase before its launch. Lei Jun admitted that the rising costs of processors and storage forced them to raise the price of the new phone. However, Xiaomi insists that the Xiaomi 15 series still offers exceptional value for the price. So, how does the Xiaomi 15 Pro actually perform? Is it still a good value? This article will shed light on the answer through hands-on experience.

Design: Lighter and Thinner, Minor Refinement in Family Design

The Xiaomi 15 Pro continues the family design style of the Xiaomi 14 Pro in terms of appearance. The front still adopts a full-screen immersive curved display. The narrow bezel width after the screen lights up provides an excellent visual experience. The front of the screen is covered with Xiaomi Dragon Crystal Glass 2.0, offering better scratch and drop resistance compared to the previous generation, eliminating the need for a screen protector.

In terms of screen quality, the Xiaomi 15 Pro adopts a Samsung customized M9 luminescent material, offering higher luminous efficiency. The screen resolution remains at the 2K level, without any downgrades. The biggest advantage of this screen is its energy saving, with power consumption reduced by 24%, comparable to a 1.5K resolution screen. The peak brightness reaches 3200 nits, seemingly not very high, but it can activate 25% of the total pixels, not just a small area. Therefore, even when watching HDR videos outdoors, the brightness can be effectively increased, making it more practical than simply high brightness numbers.

The side of the phone has undergone significant changes. Unlike the previous right-angled edge design, the Xiaomi 15 Pro still primarily uses right-angled edges, but the transition to the screen is smoother. The back adopts the reverse wrap design from the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, resulting in better edge transition and a more comfortable grip. The overall flatness of the body and reduced thickness are achieved.

The camera module still maintains a square matrix design, but due to the adoption of a periscope telephoto lens, the lens position has been adjusted. The circle in the lower right is purely decorative, and the fill light is placed outside the matrix. The protrusion of the lens is significantly lower, as Xiaomi uses a crater design, seamlessly connecting the lens with the body. The edge of the camera matrix adopts a curved transition, unlike the previous abrupt design. The step-like design of the right-angled edge does have a strong sense of technology. In comparison, the Xiaomi 15 Pro appears more pleasing to the eye.

The Xiaomi 15 Pro is thinner in design, measuring 216 grams in weight, 10 grams lighter than the Xiaomi 14 Pro. This weight difference is noticeable; the Xiaomi 15 Pro feels significantly lighter in hand, without feeling top-heavy. The improved grip is immediately noticeable.

Overall, although the Xiaomi 15 Pro hasn't undergone a major redesign, there have been numerous minor refinements. It appears more refined visually and offers an excellent feel, allowing a flagship phone to balance both aesthetics and grip.

Performance: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Gaming, Low Load and Low Power Consumption

Xiaomi's numbered series phones have always been known for their performance. As the first device with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the Xiaomi 15 Pro naturally boasts impeccable hardware specifications. However, maximizing the hardware potential is the key to the Xiaomi 15 Pro's performance success.

First, let's look at the benchmark tests:

• CPU: GeekBench6 single-core score is 3111, a 44.9% increase compared to the Xiaomi 14 Pro's 2146. Multi-core score is 9645, a 34.8% increase compared to the Xiaomi 14 Pro's 7153. OryonCPU is undoubtedly Qualcomm's trump card, bringing significant performance improvements.

• Graphics performance: Aztec Vulkan off-screen scenario at 1080P, the Xiaomi 15 Pro can reach 313 frames, 98 frames higher than the 14 Pro, an increase of 37.2%.

The above scores are all tested at room temperature. In the laboratory, theoretically, higher scores can be obtained, but there is no need to test in reality because the load of the benchmark test is too different from the actual gaming load.

Gaming Tests:

• Genshin Impact: Highest graphics quality, PChome standard test model, average frame rate of 59.7 frames over 30 minutes of gameplay. The game runs smoothly and has low heat generation. The front temperature is 39.0 degrees Celsius, and the back temperature is 39.3 degrees Celsius. The Xiaomi 14 Pro can also reach 59.6 frames, but the temperature difference is significant, 4 degrees higher on the front.

• Honor of Kings: Even in 10V10 mode, there is no pressure at all, with an average frame rate of 119.9 frames, completely stable without frame rate fluctuations. The average power consumption is 2.65W, very energy-efficient. Naturally, the heat generation is not high either, with the front at 35.7 degrees Celsius and the back at 35.6 degrees Celsius, already at body temperature levels.

• Honkai: Star Rail: During map exploration, the average frame rate is 59.6 frames, stable throughout. The Xiaomi 14 Pro can also reach 59.4 frames, but the cost is temperature, exceeding 45 degrees Celsius. The Xiaomi 15 Pro performs much better, with both the front and back around 40 degrees Celsius. The power consumption difference is even greater, with 4.07W lower than the previous generation by 36.8%.

Obviously, the powerful performance of the Xiaomi 15 Pro allows all games to have a lower load. The power consumption and heat generation of high-load games have significantly decreased.

System: Significant Upgrade in Surge OS 2.0, Qualitative Change in Loading Speed

Xiaomi's hardware specifications have always received praise, but Xiaomi users often complain about the Surge system. The Xiaomi 15 Pro is the first to launch the Surge OS 2.0 system. After a complete overhaul at the bottom layer, the new system enhances loading speed and offers more special effects, significantly improving overall smoothness.

The most direct change in Surge OS 2.0 is that various dynamic special effects are more visually appealing. This is evident from the lock screen itself, with charging and fingerprint identification featuring ripple effects, truly resembling water droplets rippling on the screen. This effect runs through the entire system. In AI dynamic wallpaper generation, the ripple effect is more noticeable. In the weather app, more realistic weather effects can be displayed according to real-time weather conditions.

In terms of lock screen wallpaper presentation, Surge OS 2.0 provides a new AI dynamic wallpaper feature that animates static images, creating an interesting visual effect. Meanwhile, various effects in the Xiaomi 15 Pro are more consistent with the physical effects of the real world. For example, when pulling down the control center, a page flipping effect occurs, unlike the more rigid straight up and straight down effect found in other Xiaomi devices.

In terms of system smoothness, Xiaomi Surge OS 2.0 has optimized various aspects, reducing the processor's idle rate and significantly speeding up application loading speed. We specifically conducted a loading test for 20 applications. The Xiaomi 15 Pro significantly outperforms the Xiaomi 14 Pro in performance. For instance, when simultaneously opening Taobao, the Xiaomi 15 Pro has a visible difference, loading about half a second faster. With each application loading a little faster, the Xiaomi 15 Pro takes 53 seconds to run through 20 applications, while the Xiaomi 14 Pro takes 66 seconds, a 13-second difference. Although there may be hardware factors involved, the primary factor is definitely the system. Looking at it this way, Surge OS 2.0 has truly taken off with its smooth performance.

In terms of AI, Surge OS 2.0 also provides Xiaomi AI Assistant with support for large language models, allowing for more accurate understanding of user language. Xiaomi AI Assistant has screen recognition capabilities, offering screen search functionality, with an experience similar to other circle search features.

Imaging: Ultra-Level Periscope Telephoto Lens

The Xiaomi 15 Pro's imaging capabilities are a mixed bag. The main camera and ultrawide sensors remain unchanged, with optical performance improvements, but the main camera's variable aperture has been cut. Of course, this doesn't greatly affect ordinary users, but photography enthusiasts may be more concerned about this.

The telephoto lens is the major upgrade of the Xiaomi 15 Pro. It adopts an Ultra-level periscope telephoto lens using the IMX858 sensor, offering 5X optical zoom and 10X lossless zoom. Equipping this lens is clearly aimed at high-magnification zoom capabilities. The biggest question for this periscope telephoto lens might be its performance in low-light environments. We tested it; it performs well at 5X