Another day, another smartphone, but at least the Xiaomi 15T is available in South Africa. Right now, in fact, provided you’re willing to buy one (or snag a contract) from Vodacom. The price tag is R15,000, or at least R700/m if you’re going the rental-style route, but the way Xiaomi talks about this thing, you’re getting a decent deal.

That’s because it’s all about the camera for the Xiaomi 15T. The Leica 5x Pro telephoto camera specifically, appearing for the first time in the Chinese brand’s T-series smartphones. Don’t worry if you forget that point. Xiaomi will be reminding all and sundry about it for a while.

Snapping up the Xiaomi 15T

Before we get to the other camera features — there are at least a few — it’s worth checking out what else you’ll get for fifteen grand. A 6.83in 1,280 x 2,772 120Hz AMOLED display with 3,200 nits of peak brightness is a good start, the Dimensity 8400 Ultra is a decent effort, and 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage are… about what we’d expect.

The 15T’s IP68 waterproof rating is fast becoming the industry standard, to the point where we’ll only start pointing it out if it’s absent. But not this time. Gorilla Glass 7i covers the AMOLED display, and there’s a 5,500mAh battery with 65W wired charging to keep everything humming along. In short, there’s not much that’s really remarkable, aside from perhaps the screen, but that was always the point. It’s all about the camera tech.

The Xiaomi 15T has a trio of rear cameras; two 50MP and one 12MP, and a 32MP front-facing snapper to help you inspect your pores. The main 50MP features those Leica optics, as well as a 1in Light Fusion 800 sensor that Xiaomi says delivers “sharpness and dynamic range even in low light.” It bloody better. The second 50MP telephoto delivers 2x optical zoom, while the 12MP ultrawide captures a 120° field of view of whatever you’re snapping.

Advanced software features, specifically Ultra Zoom, apparently supply “clarity up to 200MP at 100mm and 200mm focal lengths, giving users the ability to photograph wildlife or action from a safe distance without losing detail.” That’s something we’d prefer to see in action before being wowed by it, but it’s a pretty cool claim if true. Since the Xiaomi 15T is already here, we’ll likely have a solid chance of checking it out in the near future. Watch this space.