Xiaomi 15 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
90
out of 100
VS
89
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.73-inch Xiaomi 15 Ultra (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite) that was released on February 27, 2025, against the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A18 Pro and came out 6 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Xiaomi 15 Ultra
- 73% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (3030K versus 1750K)
- Has 50% more RAM: 12GB versus 8GB
- Newer Bluetooth version (v6.0)
- Supports higher wattage charging (90W versus 30W)
- Slow-motion recording at 1920FPS
- Fingerprint scanner
- Comes with 725 mAh larger battery capacity: 5410 vs 4685 mAh
- 13% higher pixel density (522 vs 460 PPI)
- Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
- Shows 17% longer battery life (35:01 vs 30:03 hours)
- The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
- Delivers 12% higher peak brightness (1811 against 1613 nits)
- 13% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 3507 and 3106 points
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.73 inches | 6.9 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3200 pixels | 1320 x 2868 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 522 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (1-120 Hz) | Yes (1-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 1600 nits | 2000 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 3200 nits | 1600 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Touch sampling rate | 300 Hz | - |
| Screen protection | Xiaomi Shield Glass 2.0 | - |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 90% | 92.3% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.7% | 99.6% |
| PWM | 120 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 1 ms | 1 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 161.3 mm (6.35 inches) | 163 mm (6.42 inches) |
| Width | 75.3 mm (2.96 inches) | 77.6 mm (3.06 inches) |
| Thickness | 9.35 mm (0.37 inches) | 8.25 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 226 g (7.97 oz) | 227 g (8.01 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Silver, Green | White, Black, Silver, Gold |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
| Repairability | Average (2.61/5) | Average (2.83/5) |
| Drop resistance | Good (C) · 90 drops | Good (C) · 90 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite | Apple A18 Pro |
| Max clock | 4320 MHz | 4040 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 6 cores at 3.53 GHz: Oryon (Phoenix M) - 2 cores at 4.32 GHz: Oryon (Phoenix L) |
- 4 cores at 2.42 GHz: Sawtooth - 2 cores at 4.05 GHz: Everest |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 3 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon | Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Adreno 830 | 6 core Apple GPU |
| GPU shading units | 1536 | 768 |
| GPU clock | 1100 MHz | 1490 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~3379.2 GFLOPS | ~2289 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 24339 | 33340 |
| Single-core score | 3106 | 3507 |
| Multi-core score | 9710 | 8789 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 912791 | 508577 |
| GPU | 1097348 | 540541 |
| Memory | 440343 | 191233 |
| UX | 579894 | 509980 |
| Total score | 3030376 | 1750331 |
| Samples | [12 tests] | [4 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 76% | 74% |
| Graphics test | 16 FPS | 13 FPS |
| Graphics score | 2151 | 1718 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | 37 FPS | 28 FPS |
| Section 1 | 42 FPS | 34 FPS |
| Section 2 | 38 FPS | 29 FPS |
| Section 3 | 32 FPS | 21 FPS |
| Graphics score | 9815 | 7448 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 85% | - |
| Graphics test | 33 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 5626 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 19993 | - |
| Video editing | 8213 | - |
| Photo editing | 36597 | - |
| Data manipulation | 17882 | - |
| Writing score | 22481 | - |
AnTuTu 11 Ranking List (#106th place)
Recent User Tests
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-07-07 (average f-4 enjoyer) | AnTuTu 11 | 2993761 |
| 📘 2026-06-28 (Mansur) | Battery life | SOT 12:59 / 16:48 |
| 📘 2026-02-22 (XX5mipiXX) | AnTuTu 11 | 3108699 |
| 📘 2026-01-27 -> MiEmirr | Geekbench 6 CPU | 3127 / 9465 |
| 📘 2026-01-27 -> MiEmirr | AnTuTu 11 | 3182610 |
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-23 -> Rappzzzz | AnTuTu 11 | 2043169 |
| 📘 2026-09-20 (thuanday) | AnTuTu 11 | 2043169 |
| 📘 2026-09-17 (Jonibek) | AnTuTu 11 | 1692383 |
| 📘 2026-07-21 (l1tsemerr) | AnTuTu 11 | 1650968 |
| 📘 2026-04-27 -> hoduyhaodzso1tg | Battery life | SOT 12:58 / – |
Memory
| RAM size | 12 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 5300 MHz | - |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) | iOS 18 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) |
| ROM | HyperOS 3.0 | - |
| OS size | 23.9 GB | 18 GB |
| OS updates | 4 years | 7 years |
| Security updates | 7 years | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5410 mAh | 4685 mAh |
| Max charge power | 90 W | 30 W |
| Battery type | Silicon-Carbon (Si/C) | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (80 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (72% in 30 min) | Yes (46% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:51 hr | 1:57 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1000 cycles | 1000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 12:19 hr | 14:34 hr |
| Watching video | 18:43 hr | 22:01 hr |
| Gaming | 06:45 hr | 07:12 hr |
| Standby | 141 hr | 163 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (45th and 14th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8064 x 6048 |
| Zoom | Optical, 4.3x | Optical, 5x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 120FPS | Up to 120FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 120FPS |
| Slow motion | 1920 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 115° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 200 MP 3) Telephoto: 50 MP 4) Ultrawide: 50 MP 5) Depth |
1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP 3) Ultrawide: 48 MP 4) Depth |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.63 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 24 mm |
| Sensor | Sony LYT-900 | Sony IMX803 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.0" (≈ 1 inch) | 1/1.28" (≈ 0.78 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.6 micron | 1.22 micron |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 200 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.6 | f/2.8 |
| Focal length | 100 mm | 120 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung ISOCELL S5KHP9 | Sony IMX913 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.4" (≈ 0.71 inch) | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.56 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 14 mm | 13 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KJN5 | Sony IMX972 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.76" (≈ 0.36 inch) | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.64 micron | 0.7 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 170 | 160 |
| Preview | 89 | 93 |
| Zoom | 166 | 130 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Xiaomi 15 Ultra from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 32 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 6528 x 4896 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 22 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | Omnivision OV32B | Sony IMX714 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.14" (≈ 0.32 inch) | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | No | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | Yes |
DxOMark front camera
| Photo | - | 149 |
| Video | - | 155 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 6.0 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | - |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | eSIM |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | February 2025 | September 2024 |
| Release date | February 2025 | September 2024 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1099 | $1199 |
| Successor | - Xiaomi 17 Ultra | - Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max |
| SAR (head) | - | 1.22 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 1.45 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 90 W | Not included |
Further details
Notes on 15 Ultra:
- The Chinese version of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has a 6000 mAh battery, while the international model comes with 5410 mAh, leading to a noticeable difference in battery life.
Notes on iPhone 16 Pro Max:
- The US version of the smartphone exclusively supports eSIM, while the international model features both a physical SIM slot and eSIM capability. In China, the device is available with dual physical SIM card slots only.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display and gaming are more important to you, then choose the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. But if the battery life and software are more of a priority – go for the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 2457
