Chinese Mega-brand Xiaomi is bringing the Xiaomi 15T Pro to Australia, along with a slew of tablets, smart wearables and smart home appliances.
As a brand globally, Xiaomi is huge. Really, genuinely huge; by most metrics it’s the third biggest seller of smartphones globally, behind only Apple and Samsung. That’s big by any measure, but here in Australia the brand has had an on-again, off-again relationship with Australian consumers.
You’ve certainly been able to buy Xiaomi phones through grey market importers for years – if you’re keen on any brand, that’s pretty much always been an option, though how well that runs with Australian phone frequencies can be a bit of a gamble – but locally there’s only been a handful of Xiaomi phones sold through JB Hi-Fi for a while, with only one model currently being ranged there, it seems – as well as third party firms like XiaomiTech offering up phones like the Poco F7 Ultra through online sales.
Also read:
Now there’s another foray by Xiaomi into the local market, though this one has a whole lot more of the official imprimatur than most others, with a site that spins off its Australian offerings from the company’s mi.com site kicking into gear.
Quite where this leaves the other “Xiaomi” operations in Australia is.. a good question, honestly.
So I asked Xiaomi’s representatives, and got this answer:
Xiaomi products have previously been available in Australia through what is known as a distributor model, meaning a third-party was responsible for sales – not Xiaomi itself operating locally.
While Xiaomi supported them with products, those entities were independent businesses.
There is no more official affiliation with distributors in Australia. As of the 10th October 2025, Xiaomi Australia is officially launching as a wholly owned subsidiary of Xiaomi Corporation. This means:
– Sales, marketing and distribution are now managed directly by Xiaomi, not third parties.
– Xiaomi is responsible for warranty, after-sales support, and customer service in Australia
– Xiaomi retail and channel partnerships will be built and managed directly by Xiaomi to ensure consistency and reliability.Xiaomi’s goal is long-term growth in Australia. This includes investment in retail, customer service and channel partnerships.
What is Xiaomi selling in Australia (this time…?)
The headline offering (though oddly, not quite its flagship) from Xiaomi in Australia at this time are the Xiaomi 15T phones, ranging in official price from $999 to $1399, though there is a price cut in play for those phones during its October 10th-31st launch window by $200 per phone.
There’s a range of two different models in play here; the Xiaomi 15T and the Xiaomi 15T Pro, each of which come in either 256GB or 512GB variants.
How do the Xiaomi 15T and Xiaomi 15T Pro compare?
To the specifications tables without delay!
On paper, they’re broadly quite similar phones; both use Xiaomi’s rejigged Android-based HyperOS2 on board, both have the same size displays and both pack in a trio of lenses at the rear with similar megapixel counts.
Where the Xiaomi 15T Pro jumps up against its sibling is with a sharper display screen and camera lenses developed with Leica, giving them a (theoretical) jump up, though I’ll absolutely want to wait to reserve judgement there until I’ve had a chance to test them out, if that happens. I’ve certainly put in a request for review units, so I’ll have to wait and see on that score.
On the power front, both phones can charge rather quickly through wired chargers, but only the Xiaomi 15T Pro supports wireless charging, at up to a claimed 50W, though that would be with a specific Xiaomi charger… that Xiaomi, at least for now, doesn’t appear to be selling in Australia.
Maybe that will come with time.
What’s your first impression, Alex?
Right now, as I’m writing this, and you’re imagining my voice in your head (or maybe yours, that’s fine too), I’ve not even had hands-on time with Xiaomi’s new phones, let alone time to generate a full review of anything.
These are (for once!) actually fairly new; while it’s been common for a lot of Chinese brands to offer up devices some months after their debuts, the 15T and 15T Pro only broke cover late in September, so we’re truly not waiting long to get them down under.
Of the two, I am more intrigued by the 15T Pro because of its Leica tie-up. Leica used to have a photography deal with Huawei, but it’s been a long time now since Huawei had phones to sell in Australia, while companies such as Hassleblad have tie-ups with Oppo and its stablemate Vivo (no longer sold in Australia) has Zeiss on board.
To be clear, the Xiaomi 15T Pro isn’t going to be a proper replacement for any of Leica’s premium-priced, premium quality DSLR products – but the use of Leica expertise in setting up its camera systems should (in theory) give it a leg up in the camera quality stakes. Again, though, that’s a wait-and-see matter.
Then there’s Xiaomi’s “own” HyperOS 2.0. I’ve put “own” in brackets there because it is built around an Android framework – Android 15, it appears – but with some pretty significant modifications in look and feel, but along with it no particular clear pathway for upgrades, something I’d expect in phones selling at this kind of price point.
Should you pre-order a Xiaomi 15T or Xiaomi 15T Pro?
I’m certainly going to try to get review devices in to test, and I’d advocate for waiting, because there’s a lot of competition in this low premium price space.
It does offer a whole ecosystem approach with other Xiaomi devices, however, and that’s really why Xiaomi takes this particular approach. It doesn’t just want to sell you a smartphone in Australia, you see.
What else is Xiaomi going to sell in Australia?
Short answer: A lot.
I would be here all day writing up specifications and comparisons if I even had time to try, so I’m just going to try to speed run you through what’s being offered and at what price point, if that’s OK.
If it’s not, feel free to drop hundreds of dollars into my running costs, and then maybe I’ll have time…
At launch, as per its web site at the time of writing, Xiaomi is also offering the Xiaomi 15, though confusingly that model (no Pro prefix) sells for $1,599, which means the Xiaomi 15 is more pricey than the Xiaomi 15T Pro… which certainly is a branding choice!
Like the 15T Pro, its big selling point is Leica lenses plus a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor on board, though it runs with a smaller screen and smaller battery… for more money.
If you have less money, it’s also going to sell a range of Xiaomi Redmi phones, starting with the $249 Redmi 15C or Redmi 15 5G.
The difference between those two phones? The latter has 5G– it’s in the name, after all –a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s Gen3 processor and a hefty 7000mAh battery, truly surprising at this price point – while the former has a 6,000mAh power pack wrapped around a Mediatek Dimensity 6300 instead.
There’s also the $399 Redmi Note 14, $499 Redmi Note 14 5G and the $579 Redmi Note 14 Pro, though ahead of the launch period for Xiaomi – from the 10th of October – they’re all apparently “sold out”.
I’m not sure that’s how something being sold out works, Xiaomi, but it does at least demonstrate the position that Xiaomi is targeting most parts of the smartphone space in terms of price points.
On the tablet front, there’s the $349 Redmi Pad 2 or smaller $249 Redmi Pad SE, along with the $449 Redmi Pad 2 Pro and $449 Xiaomi Pad 7.
Xiaomi is also launching a range of wearables locally, from the ultra-affordable $59.50 Redmi Watch 5 Active that couldn’t look more like an Apple Watch without some kind of fruit logo on it, $69.50 Redmi Watch 5 Lite, $189 Redmi Watch 5, $269 Xiaomi Watch S4 or $259 Xiaomi Watch S4 41mm. Some of those devices do appear to have some launch pricing discounts on them, but I’m trying to list the “retail” price for these, presuming they do in fact go up to those prices at some point.
Xiaomi’s also launching 3 smart bands, starting at $49.50 for the Smart Band 9 Active, then $89.50 for the Smart Band 10 or $149 for the Smart Band 9 Pro.
Finally on the smart home front, Xiaomi’s offering up one robot vacuum cleaner, the $1,199 Robot Vacuum X20+, one stick vaccum in the form of the $79.50 Mi Vaccum Cleaner Mini, two speakers – the $49.50 Xiaomi Sound Pocket 5W and $47.50 Xiaomi Sound Outdoor 30W and… phew, nearly there… two home security cameras in the form of the $109 Xiaomi Outdoor Camera BW300 and $139 Xiaomi Outdoor Camera BW500.
Wait, I forgot a category, because there’s also true wireless headphones, because of course there are.
These range from the $24.50 Redmi Buds 6 to the $29.50 Redmi Buds 6 Active $34.50 Redmi Buds 6 Lite to the $52.50 Redmi Buds 6 to the $119.50 Redmi Buds 6 Pro and finally up to $249 for the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro models. I’m not sure I have enough ears to fit all those headphones in, honestly.
That’s a lot of product to announce to the Australian market, and it does at bolster that claim that Xiaomi is rather more serious about attacking the local market, although for now there’s no particular sign of any physical retail availability for any of these products.
Which means you’re either buying on faith (or possibly specifications) or checking reviews. I’ve put in queries with Xiaomi about getting some devices in to test, so stay tuned – hopefully I’ll be able to provide some clarity on which of these many, many devices might be worth getting excited about.
About the Author
