Xiaomi 15T Review: Is it the best buy at the segment?

Hello everyone! I’m Pratima, and after a full month of testing, I’m finally ready to share my personal experience with the Xiaomi 15T, which has launched in Nepal for NPR 65,000 (12/512GB). The 60–70K segment is absolutely packed right now, with phones like the Galaxy A56, Honor 400, Vivo V60, OnePlus Nord 5, and the soon-to-arrive OPPO Reno 14. So when I got the 15T in my hands, I was really curious to see how it holds up. And honestly, for the most part, I’ve been impressed, but there are a few things that didn’t sit right with me. Let's find everything out in my Xiaomi 15T review.

Xiaomi 15T Specifications 

• Design, build: 163.2 x 78 x 7.5 mm, 194 gm, IP68 rating
• Display: 6.83-inch AMOLED screen, 1.5K, 120 Hz refresh rate
• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 8400-Ultra (4nm mobile platform)
• Memory: 12GB LPDDR5X RAM, 256/512GB UFS 4.1 storage (non-expandable)
• Software & UI: HyperOS 2 on top of Android 15
• Rear Camera: Triple (50MP main, 50MP 2x telephoto, 12MP ultrawide)
• Front Camera: 32MP sensor (hole-punch)
• Security: Fingerprint sensor (optical in-display), Face Unlock
• Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 6E (dual-band), Bluetooth 6.0, GPS / Glonass / Galileo / Beidou / QZSS / NavIC, USB-C, NFC, 4G LTE, 5G
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient light, Color temperature, E-compass, Flicker, Gyroscope, IR blaster, Proximity
• Battery: 5500mAh with 67W charging (67W power adapter provided)
• Price in Nepal: NPR 64,999 (12/512GB)

Buy & Read full specs of Xiaomi 15T here

Xiaomi 15T Review

Design & Build

The first thing that stood out to me was the design. I really liked the glass finish and the color options; they genuinely feel different from other phones in this price range. I also found the phone quite premium in hand. Of course, Xiaomi also has a Pro model with metal frames, and when I held that variant earlier, it felt even more high-end — but sadly, it’s not coming to Nepal.

Still, the regular 15T is solid. The flat frames actually made gaming more comfortable for me, and the IP68 water- and dust-resistance added extra confidence. Overall, I found zero complaints with its build quality.

A capable display

When it comes to the display, I have to say — this is one of the best parts of the phone. In my testing, the display got extremely bright, and even in harsh Nepali sunlight, I didn’t face visibility issues. HDR videos looked stunning because of the 3200-nit peak brightness.

The front uses Gorilla Glass 7i, and the panel supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, fast touch response, and even 3840Hz PWM dimming, something you don’t see even on Samsung or iPhones. Watching content and gaming on this screen felt genuinely flagship-level.

The only thing I missed was a 144Hz refresh rate like the Nord 5 — but since Xiaomi provides 12GB RAM even in the base model, the overall smoothness felt great. Plus, the speakers are also quite good alongside its haptics.

Performance & Gaming

Performance is where I found the 15T to shine the most. The Dimensity 8400 Ultra chipset handled everything I threw at it. In my gaming tests, Mobile Legends ran at 120fps with great stability. PUBG stayed around 89–90fps (though the phone supports 120fps, I couldn’t cross 90fps). Genshin Impact averaged around 59fps with smooth gameplay.

I expected the phone to do even better — especially since the GPU here is technically stronger than the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 — but the results were still solid. On the bright side, I noticed the phone didn’t heat beyond 40°C, thanks to the large vapor chamber cooling. No throttling either.

Software

The 15T ships with HyperOS 2, and Xiaomi has promised 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates, which I found fair for this price. HyperOS still looks very similar to iOS, and with HyperOS 3, Xiaomi is adding the “Liquid Glass” effect, which, honestly, I’m not personally excited about. I wish Xiaomi would focus on its own identity instead of copying iOS visuals.

Camera

Now, this is the part where I wasn’t fully satisfied. The 50MP main camera, 50MP 2x telephoto, and 12MP ultra-wide are fine on paper, and yes, Xiaomi mentions Leica tuning, but in real life, I didn’t get that “Leica magic” you see on Xiaomi’s higher-end phones.

Daylight

In good lighting, photos looked punchy and detailed, but in tricky conditions, the phone struggled with dynamic range. Highlights blew out at times, and shadows often turned darker than they should. I compared it to the OnePlus Nord 5, and honestly, the Nord handled challenging lighting better.

Portraits

Portraits were okay for me, decent skin tones, Leica filters, but sometimes messy edge detection.

Selfies

Selfies from the Xiaomi 15T did not impress me at all. They came out darker, and exposure wasn’t consistent.

Ultrawide

The ultra-wide camera is usable but lacks fine details. But it's better than the usual 8MP ones we find on other midrange phones.

Videos

Video quality is decent: 4K 30fps looked the best with stable footage, but 4K 60fps had slight wobble. Overall, it was just okay in terms of videos, nothing extraordinary.

So yes — the camera is the weakest part of this phone.

Battery & Charging

The 5500mAh battery easily gave me a full day of use. Charging speed is limited to 67W, which surprised me because cheaper Redmi phones offer 120W. But in my testing, it fully charged in about 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes, which is acceptable.

Xiaomi 15T Review: Conclusion

After using the Xiaomi 15T for a full week, here’s my honest take: for 65,000, this phone gets a lot of things right. I loved the design, the IP68 rating, the flagship-level display, excellent haptics, loud speakers, stable performance, and reliable battery life. Gamers especially are going to love this.

But if camera quality matters to you more than performance, then phones like the Galaxy A56 or Vivo V60 will serve you better. For everyone else, especially if you prioritize smooth performance and a premium display, the Xiaomi 15T is one of the best options in Nepal at this price.

Xiaomi 15T Review: Pros & Cons

Pros

• Great Performance
• Good haptics and audio
• Elegant design

Cons

• Average cameras
• Software experience is just okayish