It’s no secret that the Xiaomi Redmi Note line-up is one of Stuff’s favourites, with both the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ and Redmi Note 14 Pro standing out as some of the best mid-rangers available in South Africa. Xiaomi’s hoping to keep the streak alive with the release of the Redmi Note 15 Series, which has officially turned up in China.
Better yet, two of the trio — consisting of the Redmi Note 15, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro+ — have opted for a Snapdragon build for the first time, ditching the Dimensity chips that powered previous generations. The batteries are bigger, and the price is low, but we don’t expect that to be the case by the time these end up on South Africa’s shores.
Taming the Snapdragon
The cheapest of the lot is the base Redmi Note 15, which adds a whopping 0.1in onto the display– taking the FHD OLED screen up to 6.77in — while still holding onto the 120Hz refresh rate. It’s much brighter, too, now repping a 3,200 nits peak brightness, up from the 2,100 nits found on last year’s Redmi Note 14 5G.
Even with a larger display, Xiaomi managed to shave off a couple of grams, now weighing in at 178g. But the biggest change is easily the switch to a Qualcomm-made chip, specifically the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, which should beat out the Dimensity 7025 Ultra lodged in its older sibling. A Light Hunter 400 sensor replaces the old Sony LYT-600 sensor here, powering up the 50MP shooter on the phone’s rear.
Battery shouldn’t be an issue, even from the weakest of the trio. A 5,800mAh battery leads the charge now, with no changes to the 45W charging spec. The device will offer up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage at CNY 1,500 (R3,700) with the 6/128GB model coming in at CNY 1,000 (R2,460).
You’ll want to go Pro, though
Going up a level nets you the Redmi Note 15 Pro and Note 15 Pro+, both of which mimic each other with a 6.83in AMOLED (1,280 x 2,772) display, 120Hz abilities, and 3,200 nits peak brightness. It’s a small upgrade over their predecessors, but at least it’s an upgrade. The same can’t be said for these devices’ cameras, which reuse the same 50/8MP main and ultrawide setups found on last year’s Pro and Pro+ models.
It’s clear that the budget went to upping these devices’ SoC specs, even if the Redmi Note 15 Pro eschews the Snapdragon upgrade and holds onto a MediaTek chip — specifically the Dimensity 7400 Ultra. The Pro+, however, gets all its power from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4.
The upgrade we’re most looking forward to is the massive 7,000mAh battery found in both Pro devices, with the Pro+ enticing users with 90W wired charging while the regular Pro is left with 45W speeds. Better yet, both devices can be used as a power bank, featuring 22.5W reverse charging abilities.
Picking up the Note 15 Pro in China will set you back CNY 1,900 (R4,600) for the 12/512GB trim, though it’ll drop to as low as CNY 1,500 (R3,700) for the 8/256GB model. The Pro+ demands at least CNY 2,000 (R4,900) for its base 12/256GB model, while the best of the lot comes in at CNY 2,400 (R5,900) for 16/512GB. Local pricing and availability for the trio are still up in the air, but don’t expect the same low prices when the devices do turn up, likely in early 2026.
