By Ellite Times Team Samsung unveiled their Galaxy S25 series recently, both in their home market in South Korea and worldwide, and it can be said that they are receiving quite a positive response. It is even noted by some that due to the overwhelming number of pre-orders, it has exceeded 1,300,000 registrations, demonstrating a ten percent upturn over one year – the previous Galaxy S24 series had even less pre-orders. Of the total pre-orders more than half is attributed to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, hinting at the healthy acceptance of the device by a good number of customers. This positive market share may be crushed by the impending arrival of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, which is set to hit the South Korean market soon for the better of worse.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra: Dangerous Competition to the Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Xiaomi 15 ultra has competing features in comparison to the Galaxy S25 Ultra and this fact relies on its camera quality which could be a driving factor that makes users select the Xiaomi 15 ultra rather than the Samsung premium model. According to recent articles posted by Fnnews and subsequently by top bots @Jukanlosreve, Xiaomi now looks to introduce its flagship mobile phone in South Korea to go head-to-head with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra will be officially introduced in the Chinese market first before making its way to the rest of the world especially South Korea. There is still the issue of the information on how Xiaomi will sell its product. There will always be a bothering question among potential buyers that, might they consider traditional retail sales or will the company go online to save on storefront costs but risk losing out on brick and mortar services.
Confronting Xiaomi’s Brand Position in South Korea
In addition to the technical capabilities for better equipment or accessories, Xiaomi has an essential challenge in entering South Korea – its reputation. For a long time, this Chinese brand was mostly associated with the production of cheap handsets which is quite impeding for any company’s expansion into a high-end clients’ market. Promoting technology as well as the sleek designs associated with Xiaomi products, it will have to have a major global reposition in the South Korean marketplace to stand any chance of competing with such a well-known brand as Samsung. Furthermore, the offerings on replacement and repair might constitute the third pillar of strategic competition vis-à-vis the well-known Samsung’s service.
Time to include the economy and market competition
It is hard to say now how much the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will cost in South Korea as the release data, but it is anticipated that the price difference from the Galaxy S25 Ultra mint be deservedly small. This fact may indeed make it difficult for Xiaomi to attract customers attention as Samsung enjoys brand loyalty and trust in their own home country. In the meantime, it remains to be seen how the South Korean market will respond in the next two weeks to the new Xiaomi phone.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra: Innovations – Features and Camera
Xiaomi announced the release of the 15 Ultra at an event in China, giving it the price tag of 6,499 yuan ($893). The Xiaomi 15 and 15 Pro, which made their debut in October 2024, will soon be joined by the device. The upgrades in 15 Ultra, while overlapping with the previous edition, place more emphasis on the big enhancement in the 200-megapixel periscope camera for low light.
It is also worth mentioning that the Xiaomi 15 series, which includes the Ultra model, will be unveiled to a world audience at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 2nd March. Despite this, now it is too early to confirm in which countries the new product will be available, but it is most unlikely that it will sell in the USA at all.
The screen of the phone has a different beast, but the major importation of the device in other countries ought to start on 2nd March 2022. 2nd of March offers a global launch of the Xiaomi 15 series during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which is the international launch date for the variant of this smartphone as well. Many also asked if it will be available on the American market, but bearing in mind the fact that the device supports 5G, it is highly unlikely.
Powerhouse With A Focus On Cameras
Typical of the “Ultra” range of Xiaomi releases, cameras have always been the most important features, and frequently better than those of the flagships offered by Samsung or Apple. The 15 Ultra is more advanced in this context because it comprises a quad camera setup concentrated in a large circular formation, configured as a result of the association with Leica. The camera specifications are reminiscent of cameras found in professional studios in that there are three variations: a silver and black, an “Ultra” alter ego and a two-tone design.
The phone has a very different 200-megapixel periscope camera with 4.3x optical zoom to accommodate less bundled light of the same quantity without being affected by the ‘noisy’ periscope effect. This compares favorably to the previous 14 Ultra model, which offered 5x periscope but a less powerful sensor. The 15 Ultra has earned the moniker ‘Night God’ within the corridors of Xiaomi, however emphasizing its capabilities during nighttime photography.
On top of that, the device comes with three 50-megapixel cameras with very few changes from last year. This year, the main camera no longer applies the variable aperture design that was in its predecessor, as it now only has a fixed aperture of f/1.63, resulting in better quality photos due to more light entering the cameras.
Improved Experienced In Still Picture taking with Removable Camera Accessory
Finally, Xiaomi is also making the third generation Photography Kit available for the 15 Ultra. This accessories gives the user a camera compact grip with a 2,000mAh battery to double as a charger for the devices. The camera control is a set of options that include shutter and zoom controls and these are also part of the grip as well. The product has been provided with a red attire so it looks sexy and appealing.
Other Key Advancements: Upgraded Performance And Display
Also, providing separate removable tool in the form of Photography Kit belongs to the 15 Ultra as retired cameras expected from many previous Xiaomi models have been reported. Controllers, such as the F5 which is designed to release pixels aligned raster and joystick, have complimented the ever evolving design concepts of Android phones. As for touch screen, customized features based on hovering have recently entered the 69 mega pixel camera market.
Turning to the batteries, the bank used in the 15 Pro has the same capacity and takes the same amount of time to power up.
It is a pity that the Ultra also does not have 100W wireless charging like the 15 Pro dictating that wired charging will take much longer although both phones feature 50W wireless charging technology. Remarkably there is no Qi2 wireless fast charging support that has already been introduced in existing Android flapships.
Xiaomi’s Future in Korea
Xiaomi has always been successful in blending cutting-edge camera technology, but cracking the conservative South Korean market is less certain. It is because, there are mighty rivals like Samsung, an established tradition of following a brand and good assistance extended to the clients by the seller. If however they manage a successful rebrand and infuse good and comprehensive support services, there is a potential for them to attract photo enthusiasts and tech savvy customers.
As the Xiaomi 15 Ultra goes on sale in various countries, it will be interesting to see if the technology and pricing strategy can discourage people from buying their Galaxy S25 Ultra. It remains to be seen in the next few days whether Xiaomi can dent the impressive market Samsung has setup or whether it can expand its operation into a mobile phone market that has been quite competitive worldwide.