Real Photos of Xiaomi 15 Ultra Leaked: A Deep Dive into the 2024 "Ultra" Imaging Flagship and its New Features

Real Photos of Xiaomi 15 Ultra Leaked: A Deep Dive into the 2024 "Ultra" Imaging Flagship and its New FeaturesThe Lunar New Year holiday is over, and a new wave of flagship phones from Chinese manufacturers is about to launch. Following the release of Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Dimensity 9400 powered devices, the "Ultra" imaging flagships from Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo are poised to debut, with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra expected to be the first in February

Real Photos of Xiaomi 15 Ultra Leaked: A Deep Dive into the 2024 "Ultra" Imaging Flagship and its New Features

The Lunar New Year holiday is over, and a new wave of flagship phones from Chinese manufacturers is about to launch. Following the release of Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Dimensity 9400 powered devices, the "Ultra" imaging flagships from Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo are poised to debut, with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra expected to be the first in February. On January 24th, a foreign blogger leaked real photos of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, giving us a glimpse of its upgraded imaging system. This article will delve into the innovations of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, along with the vivo X200 Ultra and OPPO Find X8 Ultra, and look ahead at the software trends in flagship imaging for 2024.

01. Xiaomi 15 Ultra: Ready for Launch

On January 24th, a blogger, @gauravh1, on the social media platform X, posted what appears to be a real photo of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. The photo reveals a quad-camera setup with a revised layout. The periscope telephoto lens is located at the top of a circular module, with the Leica co-branded logo to its left. The other three lenses are arranged horizontally below. A red decorative ring surrounds the camera module. The rear logo has been changed to "Xiaomi," unlike the earlier engineering models which used different letters to obscure its identity.

It's worth noting that, compared to its predecessor, the design lacks the symmetrical harmony of the previous generation. Early leaked images showed a significantly large periscope telephoto module, consistent with rumors of a 200MP telephoto lens.

According to previous leaks, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will feature a 1-inch 50MP main camera, a 200MP periscope telephoto lens (likely using the Samsung ISOCELL HP9 sensor), a 50MP ultrawide lens, and a newly customized portrait telephoto lens. IT Home notes that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has essentially completed all pre-launch preparations; it's "ready for launch." Even the accompanying professional photography grip has received wireless radio approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), echoing the design of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra's professional grip.

Xiaomi Group President Lu Weibing has confirmed that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will be launched simultaneously in domestic and international markets, with specific details to be announced after the New Year. Following vivo and Honor, Xiaomi has also joined the high-pixel periscope telephoto competition. Its ultimate success will depend on the efforts of Xiaomi's camera team.

02. vivo X200 Ultra: A New Exploration in Three Focal Lengths

Unlike Xiaomi, after introducing the 200MP periscope telephoto lens in the X100 Ultra, vivo has opted for a bolder approach with the X200 Ultra. Current information indicates that the vivo X200 Ultra will adopt a three-camera focal length system of 13-35-85mm, differing from the 23mm or 24mm main cameras found in most flagship phones:

• Ultrawide: 50MP LYT-8181/1.28" equivalent 13mm

• Main: 50MP LYT-8181/1.28" equivalent 35mm

• Telephoto: 200MP HP91/1.4" equivalent 85mm

This multi-camera approach has previously been seen in Nubia/ZTE flagship phones. There's a circulating idea that 50mm is equivalent to a single-eye perspective, and 35mm to a binocular perspective, which while not entirely accurate, provides a helpful reference for understanding equivalent focal lengths. Many phones offer default lens focal length options in their camera settings to aid composition. Due to the 35mm equivalent focal length of the main camera, vivo has employed a larger ultrawide sensor to compensate for potential image quality loss in the wide-angle range.

Previously, Nubia showcased an engineering model with a 1-inch 35mm main camera, resulting in a thickness exceeding 19mm, clearly impractical. Therefore, the use of the LYT-818 sensor in the 35mm main camera of the vivo X200 Ultra makes sense. This isn't sensor "downgrade" but rather an adjustment in product strategy. The effectiveness of vivo's bold choice remains to be seen.

03. OPPO Find X8 Ultra: Different in Every Way

Unlike the significant hardware upgrades from the previous two manufacturers, the OPPO Find X8 Ultra largely maintains the design philosophy of its predecessor, the X7 Ultraa 1-inch main camera + dual periscope telephoto lenses. However, there are notable adjustments in the details. OPPO's Find series product manager, Zhou YiBao, has confirmed that the Find X8 Ultra will support physical telephoto macro functionality. Furthermore, the new photography button from the Find X8 Pro will also be featured on the Find X8 Ultra, further enhancing the user experience.

More significantly, the Find X8 Ultra will abandon the curved screen design in favor of a flat screen. The impact this will have on the phone's feel remains to be seen. With the Find X8 Ultra, we are more focused on its software upgrades. The 50MP RAWMAX mode and 25MP high-resolution mode from the Find X7 Ultra were not included in the Find X8 Pro. How these features will be improved in the X8 Ultra is equally anticipated.

04. 2024 Flagship Imaging: Software Features Become the New Battleground

Beyond the competition in hardware specifications, software tuning will become crucial in flagship imaging competition.

• Ultra HDR: With the establishment of the ISO 21496-1 international standard, Android 15 and iOS 18 now support a unified HDR photo standard, theoretically allowing interoperability between devices. However, due to varying release times and differing levels of investment in HDR photos by different manufacturers, the availability and effectiveness of Gainmap HDR vary across different shooting modes.

• Live Photo: With WeChat officially supporting Live Photos, this feature has regained attention. While many Android manufacturers have previously attempted to implement dynamic photo features, most have lacked refinement and optimization. As more apps support uploading dynamic photos, perfecting this feature to allow users to capture fleeting moments has become a priority.

• 25MP Mode: Apple's iPhone 15 Pro introduced a new 24MP shooting mode while retaining all the functions of the 12MP mode. Given the high ISP processing demands of 48MP, the 24MP mode provides a balance point for improving photo resolution. However, Apple's conservative approach to camera configurations limits its availability to the main camera. Huawei was the first to implement a 25MP "high-quality mode" across all three cameras. In addition to features like Log recording, we expect these software features to appear on more phones, driving a shift in flagship imaging from a hardware to a capability-based competition.

In summary, 2024's "Ultra" flagship imaging phones from Chinese manufacturers will bring numerous innovations in both hardware and software. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra, vivo X200 Ultra, and OPPO Find X8 Ultra each have their own unique characteristics. How they will meet consumers' ever-growing demands for imaging capabilities remains to be seen.