Xiaomi 15T vs 15T Pro: What’s the difference?

Xiaomi has unveiled the Xiaomi 15T and 15T Pro at an event in Munich – but with an almost identical design, what’s the difference between the two?

In many respects, the Xiaomi 15T and its Pro sibling are indeed indistinguishable. Both sport the same overall design, the same 6.82-inch OLED screen, the same trio of cameras on the rear, and even the same glass fibre finish on the rear.

But, look a little closer and the differences soon become more apparent. Here’s how the Xiaomi 15T stacks up to the Xiaomi 15T Pro on paper ahead of our full in-depth comparison once we’ve spent more time with Xiaomi’s latest mid-rangers. 

Spec comparison

Pricing and availability

The Xiaomi 15T is the cheaper of the duo, starting at £549 with 256GB of storage, though you can also pick up a 512GB variant for £599.

The Xiaomi 15T Pro, on the other hand, starts at £649 for the same 256GB, with 512GB available for £699 and 1TB for $799. 

Both are available to buy right now following their 24 September reveal. 

The Xiaomi 15T Pro is more powerful

One of the biggest differences between the two models is the chipset powering them. The Xiaomi 15T Pro is powered by MediaTek’s top-end Dimensity 9400+ – an overclocked flagship affair – while the 15T sports the less powerful, but still premium, Dimensity 8400 Ultra.

Both come with a generous helping of 12GB of RAM to help multitasking and AI feel fast and fluid, but the Pro’s beefier chipset will undoubtedly provide more graphical grunt, especially in more demanding tasks like video editing. 

That said, the Dimensity 8400 Ultra is still a great chipset that’ll no doubt be fast in everyday performance, and most users will see no problem with the less powerful chipset. 

The Xiaomi 15T has a plastic frame

If you care about how a phone feels in the hand, there’s a big difference between the Xiaomi 15T and 15T Pro. Despite a near-identical overall design, Xiaomi has opted for a high-strength 6M13 aluminium alloy frame for the Pro model while the regular 15T sticks with a plastic frame. Both have the same glass-bire back finish, however. 

That should translate to the Pro model feeling heavier and more premium, with a colder metal touch, while the 15T is lighter – 14g lighter, to be specific – but slightly less luxe to hold in the hand. 

Both phones are otherwise well-finished and offer the same IP68 dust and water resistance with Gorilla Glass 7i screen protection – but if you want that high-end in-hand feel, the Pro is likely the model to go for. 

The Xiaomi 15T Pro has a (slightly) better screen

Both phones sport the same large 6.83-inch screen, but there are slight differences between the two when you look a little closer. 

The Pro supports a super slick 144Hz refresh and sports slimline 1.5mm-thick bezels, while the 15T is capped at 120Hz and has slightly thicker bezels. There’s also slightly different PWM/DC dimming tech on offer, though how noticeable this would be in real life is arguable. 

Elsewhere, the panels are pretty similar. Both offer the same impressively bright 3200-nit peak brightness, both offer the same OLED tech for deep blacks and vibrant colours, and both even sport the same 1.5K resolution. 

Really, there isn’t that much in it – but if you want to try and run games at 144fps, or prioritise those ultra-slim bezels, the Xiaomi 15T Pro has the edge. 

The Xiaomi 15T Pro has more capable camera tech

While the combination of 50MP main, 50MP zoom and 12MP ultrawide lenses on both the Xiaomi 15T and 15T Pro might lead you to assume they’re identical, that’s not the case. 

The Pro uses a slightly larger Light Fusion 900 sensor with a slightly faster f/1.62 aperture compared to the 15T’s f/1.7 – but the bigger difference comes in the telephoto department. The Pro sports a Leica-powered 5x periscope lens that goes all the way up to 20x Ultra Zoom – while the 15T’s regular 2x telephoto ends much earlier at 4x. 

The Pro model also boasts higher-end video features than its standard sibling, including 4K@120fps recording on the main camera, along with 4K@60fps 10-bit Log recording with LUT support.

That should mean that, while the 15T should be more than capable for general shots and ultrawide snaps, the Pro is the phone that offers the best zoom performance. 

The Xiaomi 15T Pro has faster charging

Both phones sport the same high-capacity 5500mAh battery, but there’s a difference when it comes to charging. 

The Xiaomi 15T sports fairly rapid 67W HyperCharge charging, while the Pro model kicks things up a notch with 90W and 50W wireless HyperCharge support.

Though it’s worth pointing out that you’ll need specific HyperCharge adapters to achieve the full speeds, and neither comes with the charger in the box. 

Early thoughts

That the Xiaomi 15T is so similar to the 15T Pro is a win for Xiaomi; no matter which phone you choose, you’ll be getting a large high-end screen, strong battery life, a triple rear camera, and Xiaomi’s latest software.

That said, small benefits – such as the Pro’s slimmer bezels, faster 165Hz refresh rate, improved zoom lens, faster charging, and flagship processing power – do still make the Pro stand out. 

The vast majority of users will likely be happy with the regular Xiaomi 15T experience, though power users – especially those who play a lot of games – may prefer the Xiaomi 15T Pro.

We’ll reserve final judgment until we’ve spent more time with the phones, however, so check back soon for our full verdict.