REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Review - Solid build, but higher price in AI era

After 3 weeks of daily usage, we share our thoughts on the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G, including its familiar design, its specs, and pricing. 

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G's rear design

To recap, the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G features a 6.83-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen, a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 octa-core processor, 8GB/12GB of RAM, 256GB/512GB of storage, and a 6,500mAh battery with 100W fast charging through USB-C.

The cameras at the back are a 200MP main camera, an 8MP secondary camera, and a 32MP selfie camera.

For our review part 1: REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G (PH Variant) Unboxing, First Look

Multimedia Experience

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G's front panel

In front is the 6.83-inch AMOLED with a 2712 x 1220 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 480Hz touch sampling rate. It supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It is Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protected.

The panel is super bright, with 3,200 nits peak brightness, and has an 8,000,000:1 contrast ratio. This means it's more than readable under direct sunlight. The colours pop, while the text and fine details are crisp, too.

It supports 10 multi-touch points, making it good for multitasking or games that support multiple simultaneous touch inputs. It responds quickly and accurately to our taps and gestures.

Fast and super bright panel!

The bezels around the panel area look thinner than they are because of the curved glass panel. The bezels themselves are nearly symmetrical. On the top bezel is the super slim earpiece, while below it is the punch hole that houses the selfie camera.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G's top and bottom sides

The phone is equipped with a bottom-firing and top-firing speaker for audio. Around the phone are microphones used for noise cancellation in calls and audio recording.

The sound from the speakers is surprisingly loud. However, the distortion is noticeable above 85 percent as well. It can be pushed to 400 percent. However, we rarely need it to be that loud. 100 percent is usually enough.

The microphones do a good job of picking up sounds from a meter away, while the noise-cancellation for calls is good too.

Cameras

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G's rear camera module

The back features a 200MP f/1.7 main camera with a 1/1.4-inch sensor with OIS, and an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera with an LED flash.

The stock camera app includes Photo, Video, Portrait, Ultra HD, Documents, Slow Motion, Time-lapse, and Panorama.

The Pro mode allows for controls of ISO (50-6400), Shutter Speed (1/8000 - 30 sec), EV (+- 3), Focus, Metering (Spot, Center-Weighted, Average), and White Balance. 

The Pro Mode also has Photography styles where users can modify contrast, cold/warm, cyan/magenta, saturation, and sharpness.

In the Pro Mode, you can swipe the settings to reveal Preset modes such as Quick Snap, Documentary, and Slow Shutter Speed. You can save custom presets, too.

Rear Camera Samples

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera daylight 1x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera daylight 2x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera daylight 4x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera daylight ultra-wide

The daylight images from the main 200MP camera are sharp, contrasty, and punchy in colors. The 2x and 4x crops surprisingly retain the detail, sharpness, and colors of the 1x.

The 8MP ultra-wide camera's daylight image is noticeably less detailed but is still somewhat sharp. The color and contrast are the same as the main camera.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera close-up 1x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera close-up 2x

The close-up images' areas that are in focus are sharp, while the out-of-focus areas have a nice fall-off. The colors are vibrant but the 4x close up is noticeably softer.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Rear camera portrait

The rear camera's Portrait mode struggled with fine hair fibers and with some areas that curves but it managed to offer a somewhat pleasing blur.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera indoors 1x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera indoors 2x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera indoors 4x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera indoors ultra-wide

Indoors, the images are similar to daylight, where in the main camera, 1x is sharp, detailed, and vibrant. The 2x and 4x crops have some build-up of noise, but are still decently sharp and detailed.

The ultra-wide camera is less detailed but the colors and contrast remain decent

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera lowlight 1x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera lowlight 2x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera lowlight 4x

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G rear camera lowlight ultra-wide

For low light, the camera app automatically runs Night Mode-like shots.  And like the rest of the photos, the 1x is sharp and detailed with good color accuracy, but the light sources are overexposed. The story is similar to the 2x and 4x crop, but with noticeably more noise, which results in banding and some loss of sharpness.

Also, there are already several 2025 phones with real telephoto lenses at the same price point.

For example? The Xiaomi 15T. It is more premium and more powerful but similarly priced at PHP 28,999.

Overall, the rear cameras produced good images, with the ultra-wide being slightly less detailed. All cameras struggled with noise buildup and light sources overexposing, especially in low light.

Hopefully, there will be a software update to address the noise issue.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G's Selfie Camera

In front is the 32MP f/2.2 selfie camera found in the punch hole on the display.

Camera modes include Photo, Video, and Portrait only

It does have beautification and filters. The beautification allows for smoothening, tone, contour, slender, head size, big eyes, nose, and hairline.

Selfie Camera Samples

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Selfie camera daylight

Daylight selfies are sharp and detailed, but render skintones harshly. The texture and color is not quite right.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Selfie camera portrait

Similar to the portrait mode bokeh of the rear cameras, the edge detection has difficulty with hair fibers.

The Bokeh blur is not as pleasing as the rear cameras, but it does the job.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Selfie camera indoors

Indoor selfies are a mixed bag. The detail and contrast are there. Our main concern is the skin tones and the lips. The colors are not quite accurate, nor is it flattering.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Selfie camera lowlight

In low light, the selfie looks okay but is generally soft, and the light sources overexpose easily. The softness is due to the build-up of noise, while being compensatedfor  by noise reduction

Overall, the front cameras produced okay selfies, but the sharpness, skin tones, and detail could be improved by a software update.

The rear and front cameras can record up to 4K at 30fps. The footage is sharp, but even at 1080 at 60fps, there are motion artifacts. The noise is well controlled, though.

The rear camera has a "ShootSteady" feature, but the crop is noticeably larger than we would like. It also has a teleprompter feature, which adds a transparent floating window where the user can add text to work as a teleprompter.

Performance

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G AnTuTu and GeekBench results

Inside the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G is the 4nm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 octa-core processor, Adreno GPU, 8GB/12GB LPDDR4X RAM, and 256GB/512GB UFS 2.2 storage.

During the AnTuTu test, the phone's temperature increased by 3.4 degrees while the battery lost 4 percent power.

In Geekbench, the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G scored 1,237 in the single-core test and scored 3,234 in the multi-core test.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G 3DMark and CPDT

In 3DMark, the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G scored 4,220 overall score with an average fps of 25.27. The 512GB UFS 2.2 internal storage got 755.92 MB/s in sequential read speeds and 482.38 MB/s in sequential write speeds.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G benchmarks:

1. AnTuTu - 1,048,076
2. Geekbench 6 - 1,237 (single-core), 3,234 (multi-core)
3. 3DMark - 4,220 overall score, 25.27 average fps
4. CPDT - 755.92 MB/s sequential read speeds and 482.38MB/s sequential write speeds

The REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G in AnTuTu, Geekbench, and GeekBench AI offer scores that are within the range of what is expected in its price range. There are phones priced higher with comparable scores.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Genshin Impact

Our takeaway is that when playing demanding games on the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G, such as Genshin Impact, the game is playable even at the medium graphics settings. 

In our experience, the game runs smoothly but will occasionally stutter once the screen is full of animations and enemies.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G HyperOS

In our experience, the phone can handle the majority of tasks like navigating through the OS, opening apps, web surfing, and social media without struggling.

The phone has an optical In-Display fingerprint sensor and face unlock for security. The initial setup and subsequent uses are quick, and it detects our biometrics instantaneously. It works even if your finger is a little sweaty.

The face unlock only struggles when the camera is dirty. The screen brightens up when used in the dark. It detects the face and unlocks the phone super fast, too.

Regarding connectivity, we have the following: WiFi 6E, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, OTG, GPS, GLONASS, and Dual Hybrid SIM support.

Connections are usually stable for WiFi, and we get 4 to 5 bars of mobile data signal most of the time.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G PCMark Battery benchmark results and Battery usage

Inside the phone is a massive 6,500mAh battery. In our usual PCMark Battery Benchmark, it lasted for only 17 hours and 36 minutes. In our time with the phone, we would unplug at 8AM and use it for 17 hours and 34 minutes straight. It was connected to 5G and WiFi constantly. We even used it as our WiFi hotspot for a significant part of the day.

The battery charges via USB-C with the included 100W wall charger, which charges the phone 100 percent in around 50 minutes.

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Hyper AI features

It is running on HyperOS 2.0 based on Android 15, which further leans into visual tweaks and performance improvements while adding new AI features. 

Included in the OS are AI features. Currently, there is a Xiaomi HyperAI section in the Settings. Inside are the Gemini settings and the AI App boost. In the AI app boost, the AI Writing, AI Dynamic Wallpapers, AI Creativity Assistant, AI Translate Conversation, AI Interpreter, and AI Subtitles. 

Pros - Eye-catching design, durable glass and metal build, bright 3,200 peak brightness AMOLED, Dolby Atmos Dual Speakers

Cons - Slower performance than similarly priced Xiaomi 15T, no telephoto

REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G Specs

Display: 6.83-inch Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protected CrystalRes 12-bit AMOLED display w/ 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1.5K 2712 x 1220 resolution at 446 ppi

CPU: 2.7GHz 4nm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno GPU

RAM: 8GB/12GB LPDDR4X

ROM: 256GB/512GB UFS 2.2

Back Camera: 200MP f/1.7 w/ OIS + 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 32MP f/2.2

Battery: 6,500mAh w/ 100W HyperCharge

OS: Android 15 w/ HyperOS 2.0

Connectivity: WiFi 6E (2.4GHz/5GHz), 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, OTG, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM (nano)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, IP66/68/69/69K dust and water resistance, IR Blaster, stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, USB-C, Colors: Mocha Brown, Glacier Blue, Black

Dimensions: 163.34 x 78.31 x 8.19 (Black, Glacier Blue) to 8.47 mm (Mocha Brown)

Weight: 207 g (Black, Glacier Blue) to 208 g (Mocha Brown)

Price: PHP 25,999 (12GB/256GB), PHP 27,990 (12GB/512GB)

Verdict

REDMI Note15 Pro+ 5G's web surfing

Starting at PHP 25,999, the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G is an interesting proposition because it comes with LPDDR4X RAM, UFS 2.2 storage, and dual 200MP + 8MP rear cameras.

Has the AI arms race driven memory shortage affected the pricing of the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G?

We love the bright and beautiful 6.83-inch CrystalRes AMOLED screen not just because of its high resolution (2772 x 1280) but also because of its 3,200 nits peak brightness and numerous TUV Rheinland certifications.

The REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G's Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 is also a competent performer, but when looking at the competition, there are smartphones priced similarly but with a more powerful SoC.

The stereo speakers are loud and pleasing to listen to, and to our surprise, can be pushed to 400 percent when needed.

Its 200MP main camera captures good images even when cropping into 4x digital zoom. Even though it struggles with noise and overexposed light sources in low light, it is decent. The 8MP ultra-wide is no slouch either. Even though ultra-wide images are less detailed, the colors are consistent.

Xiaomi is also advertising the phone as "Titan Tough" because of its IP66/IP68/IP69/IP69K dust and water resistance, and because of its extensive 2-year warranty that includes front and rear cover replacement and covers 2-years of liquid damage.

Its 6,500mah battery lasts all day, even when we used it as a personal hotspot all day. Its 100W HyperCharge allows us to charge from 0 to 100 percent in under an hour. The battery is also covered by a 4-year battery replacement warranty.

Unless you really need the REDMI Note 15 Pro+ 5G's extra-durable phone with bigger battery capacity, we highly recommend going for other Xiaomi phones in a similar price category, like the POCO F8 Pro with higher-end specs or the Xiaomi 15T with stronger camera performance.

Build/Design - 4

Multimedia Experience - 4.5

Cameras - 3.75

Performance - 3.75

Average - 4/5