Xiaomi 15 Ultra to be the spiritual successor to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra with more than 5x optical zoom

Samsung decided to take a step backwards this year in aligning its 10x optical telephoto with that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Although the 10 MP mini sensor in the Galaxy S23 Ultra has long since been replaced by a slightly larger one with 50 MP, which minimizes the loss of quality in crop zoom from 5x to 10x, not all Samsung fans are satisfied with the decision in favor of a 5x telephoto in the Galaxy S24 Ultra, as can be seen again and again on social media.

Those who want more than 5x optical zoom in their smartphone may get a spiritual successor to the Galaxy S23 Ultra in early 2025 in the form of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. After it became known a few weeks ago that the 5x telephoto optics of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra would be copied 1:1 into the Xiaomi 15 Pro, speculation was immediately abound that Xiaomi was planning something new in the telephoto area for the Ultra successor.

According to rumors from China (see screenshot below), Xiaomi is probably not planning a 230mm equivalent telephoto for the Leica camera of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, but rather one with an equivalent focal length of around 180mm, which would correspond to a zoom of around 7x to 8x. This is likely to be achieved on the basis of a new Sony sensor with a size of about 1/2.51 inch, i.e., about the same size as the IMX858 in the Xiaomi 14 Ultra currently. Combined with Xiaomi's AI Zoom 2.0, this would make the Xiaomi 15 Ultra the widest zooming smartphone camera of 2025, according to Kartikey Singh on GSMChina.