Redmi Note 15 Pro+ 5G Phone Review: Top-tier endurance in a durable yet elegant body

Xiaomi has shown an interesting turnaround this year. While the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ was one of the best-selling mid-range phones last year, its successor, the Redmi Note 15 Pro+, comes with a huge battery, higher durability, and a more elegant design. At the same time, however, it took a step back in some respects — slower storage, a missing microSD card slot, and slightly less charging power than last year.

This is a phone for those who prioritize endurance above all else. If you’re looking for a smartphone that can last two days without charging and survive tougher handling, the Redmi Note 15 Pro+ is a sure bet. However, if you want the best camera phone or a gaming powerhouse, the competition is relentless. Let’s take a closer look.

Packaging: Only the essentials

Box contents depend on the market. Our global distribution test unit included a USB-A to USB-C cable and a silicone case. In Europe, chargers are no longer standardly supplied, so if you want to utilize the full charging potential, you’ll have to purchase a proprietary Xiaomi adapter (or any other) separately.

A nice bonus is that the phone comes with a pre-applied protective film on the display. While it’s not glass, it’s a soft film that will protect against minor scratches in the first few weeks of use.

Design and build: Elegance with eco-leather

The Redmi Note 15 Pro+ looks like a more modern version of its predecessor. Xiaomi retained the centrally located camera module, which this time protrudes far less from the rear surface. Our Mocha Brown test variant has an eco-leather back, giving the phone a more premium feel than standard plastic. Alternatively, you can opt for the blue or black version with a plastic surface.

Dimensions of 163.3 × 78.3 × 8.2 mm and a weight of 207 grams make it a larger smartphone, but not unpleasantly heavy. The display is covered by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which is one generation older than the latest Victus 3, but still very durable glass that covered many of last year’s flagships. The aluminum frame is flat, consistent with current trends.

The biggest leap compared to last year? IP68/IP69K certification. This means not only submersion in water but also protection against high-pressure water jets and dust. The phone can theoretically be submerged up to 2 meters for 30 minutes, which is half a meter more than its predecessor. For those who work outdoors or simply occasionally drop their phone in a puddle, this is a crucial benefit.

Display: Bigger, brighter, flat

The Redmi Note 15 Pro+ has grown to a 6.83-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1.5K (2772 × 1280 pixels). This means a pixel density of 447 ppi, which is comfortably sufficient for a very sharp image. The display is almost flat this time. Not as flat as the Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G, you can still see curved edges, but only minimally. Personally, the front side reminds me most of the stablemate Xiaomi 15 Ultra.

The 120 Hz refresh rate ensures smooth scrolling and animations, while peak brightness reaches 3,200 nits, which in practice means excellent readability even in direct sunlight. You’ll appreciate HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support when watching multimedia content.

Xiaomi also improved PWM dimming to 3,840 Hz, which is double last year’s. This should reduce eye strain for more sensitive users during long periods of use at low brightness. A pleasant feature is AI Wet Touch 2.0, which improves the responsiveness of the touch layer when operating with wet hands — very practical when your phone gets stuck in the rain or by the sink.

Unfortunately, the optical fingerprint reader is still positioned too low near the bottom edge, which isn’t entirely comfortable for one-handed operation. However, it works quickly and reliably, so you’ll get used to it after a few days.

Performance: Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 is solid

Under the hood, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 is at work, an improved version of last year’s 7s Gen 3. Xiaomi claims roughly a 10% performance increase, which in practice means the phone responds swiftly to touches, handles multitasking without issues, and runs common applications smoothly.

In the Geekbench 6 benchmark, our test device achieved 1,240 points in the single-core test and 3,199 points in multi-core. For comparison — the Google Pixel 9a with the Tensor G4 chip achieves almost 35% higher values in our tests. If you’re interested in raw performance, the Pixel or phones with Snapdragon 8 (like the POCO F7) are significantly faster.

The Adreno 810 graphics chip is also a level below top-tier solutions. In 3D Mark Extreme, the Redmi Note 15 Pro+ scored only 1,247 points. This means that demanding games like Genshin Impact will not run at the highest details. However, medium to low settings will be manageable without issues.

What I regret more than the chipset’s performance itself is the use of slow UFS 2.2 storage instead of faster UFS 3.1. This means photos load a bit slower, apps launch longer, and large file transfers take more time. I would expect better from a phone costing almost 10,000 CZK.

Battery and charging: This is where Xiaomi wins hands down

This is undoubtedly the strongest point of the Redmi Note 15 Pro+. The 6,500 mAh battery is among the largest you’ll find in mid-range smartphones. It’s 1,390 mAh larger than last year’s model and roughly 15% larger than the Galaxy A56.

In practice, this means the phone can easily last two days of use. In our tests, the Redmi Note 15 Pro+ played video for over 12 hours. This is an excellent result, and even after a 40-minute session of Diablo Immortal, the battery only dropped by 8%.

Xiaomi used silicon-carbon technology, which allows packing a larger capacity into a smaller space. According to the manufacturer, the battery will retain 80% of its capacity even after 1,600 charging cycles, which is approximately 6 years of normal use. This is a solid promise of long-term durability.

Charging? 100W is still an absolutely brutal speed. The phone charges from zero to 70% in 30 minutes and to 100% in 40 to 50 minutes. Yes, last year’s model had 120W, but honestly — a difference of a few minutes won’t kill you. More importantly, Xiaomi added support for 22.5W reverse wired charging, so you can charge headphones or watches from the Note 15 Pro+.

Wireless charging is missing, which is a shame, but not too surprising for a phone in this price category.

Cameras: The main sensor saves everything

The Redmi Note 15 Pro+ relies on a 200MP main sensor with a size of 1/1.4″, an aperture of f/1.7, and optical stabilization. On paper, it sounds impressive, and honestly — the phone takes very decent photos during the day. Details are sharp, colors are natural, and the dynamic range is solid. By default, the phone saves 12MP images, but you can activate Ultra HD mode and shoot in full 200 MP resolution. However, these files will then be around 18 to 24 MB instead of the usual 3 MB.

Moreover, the high-resolution sensor produces very good images even when zoomed in. The 2x, and even 4x crop, works great and can easily replace a tiny dedicated telephoto lens.

At night, the phone struggles a bit more. Images have more noise, and if you don’t have a steady hand or support, it’s easy for photos to come out blurry. Night mode helps, but the Redmi Note 15 Pro+ won’t reach the level of a Pixel or even an older iPhone.

The ultrawide 8MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture could be better. It lacks dynamics and, in poorer light, details — simply put, this is a lens that already deserves an upgrade.

You can record video at a maximum of 4K at 30 fps. 4K60 support is missing, which is a shame — the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 should be able to handle it according to its paper specifications. Stabilization works decently, but super-stabilization is only available in Full HD.

The selfie camera has 32 MPx and takes decent photos. It’s perfectly sufficient for video calls and occasional selfies.

Software: HyperOS 2 is better, but still with bloatware

The Redmi Note 15 Pro+ runs on Android 15 with the HyperOS 2 overlay. Xiaomi promises 4 major Android updates and 6 years of security updates, which is a solid commitment, though not on par with the 7 years offered by Pixels or the Galaxy A series.

HyperOS 2 is a very well-executed overlay for me. Not everyone likes it, but personally, I’ve long been fond of its design. Animations are smooth, the system responds quickly, and overall it feels less bloated than the first version.

However, what remains a problem is bloatware and system ads. Out of the box, you get a lot of pre-installed apps, and some system applications push recommendations and notifications. You’ll spend the first 15 minutes with the phone uninstalling unnecessary apps and disabling unwanted features. But once you do that, the system is pleasant.

The HyperAI AI features are similar to other Xiaomi models — AI Notes, AI Gallery, AI Recorder with speech-to-text transcription, AI Translator, and AI Subtitles. All of them work in Czech, which is a big bonus. Of course, Google Gemini and Circle to Search integration are also present.

Final Verdict

The Redmi Note 15 Pro+ is a phone for endurance seekers. If you’re looking for a smartphone that can last two days without charging, survive tougher handling thanks to IP68/IP69K, and charge in 40 minutes, this is a sure bet. The display is excellent, performance is sufficient, and the main camera is very decent.

On the other hand, if you’re interested in top-tier performance, a flagship-level camera, or fast storage, you might want to look elsewhere. The Pixel 9a offers a faster chipset and more versatile cameras, while the Galaxy A56 has longer support. However, Xiaomi wins where it matters most to them — battery and durability. After all, that’s what the Chinese giant is promoting most this year.

At the promotional price of 9,099 CZK, the Redmi Note 15 Pro+ is a very solid choice. Just be aware of the bloatware and don’t forget to buy a fast charger.

Editor’s rating: 84%

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