The world’s best camera phone is tipped to get even more powerful, thanks to this new 200MP zoom lens

The world’s best camera phone could become even more powerful with next year’s update, if a new Xiaomi 15 Ultra rumor is to be believed.

As GSMArena reports, a Weibo thread opened by noted tipster Digital Chat Station includes new suggestions about the specs of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s rumored 200MP periscope camera.

Various users corroborate rumors that the camera will feature 4.3x optical zoom, and have an f/2.6 lens with 100mm equivalent focal length.

As on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, we expect the 15 Ultra's new 200MP camera to sit alongside a smaller telephoto camera, which is likely to be a 50MP 3x telephoto camera once again. The existence of a 200MP periscope camera was first suggested by leaker Ice Universe in a brief X post in August.

As PhoneArena suggests, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is also tipped to ship with the next generation of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 chipset, giving the phone increased image processing capabilities.

Improving on the best

In our Xiaomi 14 Ultra review, we said the company’s ultra-premium flagship phone “boasts the best cameras of any phone, ever” – it’s no surprise that it tops our list of the best Xiaomi phones.

Frustratingly, we're forced to exclude the Xiaomi 14 Ultra from our list of the best camera phones due to its lack of US availability, but the phone is nonetheless an example of what can be achieved with modern mobile photography (the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is, at least, available to buy in the UK).

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is built around its quad-camera array, with four 50MP cameras: a wide (or main), an ultra-wide, a 3x telephoto, and a 5x periscope. The company even sells a photography kit that gives the Ultra the ergonomics of a small point-and-shoot camera (here's hoping for a Camera Control-like button on next year's model).

As you might expect, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra blew our photography tests out of the water, with its 1-inch sensor capturing more light and detail than we’d ever seen from a smartphone camera; the phone garnered a 5/5 rating for its camera capabilities.

While it’s likely we’ll hear of software and image processing improvements when the Xioami 15 Ultra is officially announced (rumors suggest January), a 200MP periscope camera would demonstrate a tangible, physical improvement to the phone’s camera system.

Furthermore, a new 200MP camera seems like a realistic upgrade given the typical caliber of yearly upgrades to Xiaomi’s Ultra camera system – the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, for instance, added a variable aperture to the main camera, while the Xiaomi 13 Ultra upped all four cameras to 50MP.

However, for now, we only have rumors to work with – we’re looking forward to official announcements about this one-of-a-kind phone, so be sure to keep up with our Xiaomi phones coverage for the latest updates.

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