Updated April 15th 2025, 21:21 IST
The premium smartphone market no longer has just the iPhones and Samsung phones. Brands such as Xiaomi have crossed the ₹1 lakh threshold to entice buyers who want a top-notch phone. The latest Xiaomi 15 Ultra is the company’s latest attempt as part of that strategy. However, Apple’s latest iPhone 16 Pro Max sits in that price segment as an unbeatable option. Can the Xiaomi 15 Ultra wrest the iPhone 16 Pro Max customers from Apple? Here is a quick comparison between the two phones.
Display: The iPhone 16 Pro Max boasts a 6.9-inch LTPO AMOLED Super Retina XDR OLED ProMotion display with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and a peak brightness of 2000 nits. A Ceramic Shield glass (2024 gen) protects the display from scuffs and scratches. On the other hand, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra packs a 6.73-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED display with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, HDR10, HDR10+, HDR Vivid, Dolby Vision, and a peak brightness of 3200 nits. Protecting the display is the company’s Xiaomi Shield Glass 2.0.
Processor: Apple’s A18 Pro chipset powers the iPhone 16 Pro Max, using the company’s 6-core GPU for high-end graphics. It packs 8GB of RAM and offers up to 1TB of storage. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, paired with an Adreno 830 GPU. It offers up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. While the iPhone 16 Pro Max runs the latest iOS 18.4, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra comes with Android 15-based HyperOS 2.
Cameras: The iPhone 16 Pro Max packs a 48MP primary camera, a 48MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP periscope telephoto camera on the back. The cameras support Dolby Vision HDR recording in up to 4K 120fps quality along with spatial audio support. On the other hand, Xiaomi’s flagship phone has four rear cameras: a 200MP periscope telephoto sensor, a 50MP wide camera, a 50MP telephoto camera, and a 50MP ultrawide sensor. This set of cameras can record up to 8K 30fps videos with Dolby Vision HDR layers. The Pro Max’s selfie camera uses a 12MP snapper, while the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has a 32MP front camera.
Battery: The iPhone 16 Pro Max is backed by a 4685mAh battery with support for fast charging, claimed to fill 50 per cent juice in 30 minutes. It also supports MagSafe and regular wireless charging. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has a 5410mAh battery with 90W fast wired and 80W fast wireless charging standards.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at ₹1,44,900, but the Xiaomi 15 Ultra costs ₹1,09,999.
Published April 15th 2025, 21:21 IST