Spot the difference
Redmi and Poco's latest phones look similar but offer dramatically different value
It’s always good to stay in touch with what’s going on across the tech price spectrum, so this month I’ve been using three entry-to mid-range phones from Xiaomi’s Redmi and Poco sub-brands. They all kind of look identical at first glance, demonstrating Xiaomi’s supply-chain scale and flexibility, but they turn out to be quite differentiated — and not always in the best way.
These phones are all available in Europe, so I’ve used euros to compare them; the situation in India and beyond will inevitably be a little more complicated.
Redmi Note 15 Pro+
The Redmi Note 15 Pro+ is the latest entry at the top of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note line, which has been titanically popular in the past. This model has a decent Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor, a 6,500 mAh silicon-carbon battery with 100-watt fast charging and up to 512GB of storage alongside 12GB of RAM.
Design-wise this is quite a plasticky phone, with a fibreglass or vegan leather back panel depending on the colorway, but it feels very sturdy; Xiaomi is touting “Redmi Titan Durability” with up to IP69K certification for water and dust resistance. It’s just 8.2mm thick, which is very slimline considering the size of the battery, though at 207g it isn’t all that lightweight.
The 6.83” 120Hz OLED screen might be the standout feature, since it uses the same slight curve on all four sides as the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. It’s a cool look that doesn’t interfere with the device on a functional level, though it does come as Xiaomi has moved to flat panels on its highest-end phones, the 17 Pro Max and brand-new 17 Ultra.
The camera system includes a 200-megapixel 1/1.4” sensor and an 8-megapixel quarter-inch ultrawide. As with other recent Redmi Note phones, the main camera is solid while the ultrawide is basically vestigial unless you really need an extreme perspective.
At €499, the Redmi Note 15 Pro+ ends up in an awkward spot in the European market. The hardware is strong enough that you can argue it’s better value than a Pixel 9a or iPhone 16E, but the price is also high enough that you might well be be better served by a slightly older, higher-end device like last year’s Xiaomi 15.
Of course, the Note 15 Pro+ will also drop in price over time, but so will another device we’ll get onto soon.
