Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
Hundreds of new smartphones are released each year, making it difficult for any single device to truly stand out. For me, the best Android phones are the ones that not only lack any noticeable flaws but also have a unique hook that makes them special, whether it’s a clever AI feature or new hardware used in an interesting way.
Xiaomi’s T series has generally ticked the right boxes for what makes a good smartphone, but it’s always lacked that one extra feature to make it exciting. The new Xiaomi 15T is a great device with solid all-around specs and some welcome generational improvements, like a better telephoto lens, a bigger battery, and a larger display. However, it also breaks from the T series mold by bringing a seldom-seen feature to mobile devices: an offline communication mode that effectively turns your phone into a walkie-talkie.
A walkie-talkie, in the year 2025? Smartphones made traditional walkie-talkies largely obsolete, but the classic devices are still used for communication in areas without cell service. While many Android apps claim to turn your phone into a walkie-talkie, none truly can, because mobile devices lack the hardware to broadcast over the necessary radio frequencies.
The Xiaomi 15T doesn’t have this hardware either, but it works around this limitation with a significantly stronger Bluetooth antenna than most phones. This allows it to make direct voice calls to other 15T devices over great distances without a network or cellular connection. Xiaomi says the 15T Pro can connect at distances of up to 1.9km, while the standard 15T reaches up to 1.3km. For comparison, that’s much longer than the 10-200m range supported by BeaconLink, the equivalent feature on OPPO and OnePlus devices.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
If Xiaomi’s new Offline Communication feature works as advertised, it could be a genuinely useful tool for hikers, frequent cruisers, and anyone else who likes to go off-the-grid. Of course, there are a few major caveats. The most obvious is that you need two Xiaomi 15T devices to use it, as the feature is part of Xiaomi’s proprietary “Astral Communication” suite. This relies on the company’s custom Surge T1S Tuner and “Super Antenna Array,” hardware designed to boost Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and cellular signals. This is what enables Offline Communication to make Bluetooth calls over distances most devices can’t reach.
The other major caveat is the range itself. The figure Xiaomi cites is a maximum, achievable only in “open, unobstructed environments.” In my brief testing, I made a successful call between my 15T Pro and 15T review units from nearly 200m away, but the call failed at 500m due to an obstruction. More testing is needed to see how Xiaomi’s claims hold up, but even if the range falls short, this is far from the only thing the Xiaomi 15T has going for it.
The Xiaomi 15T Pro: A flagship phone without the flagship pricing The Xiaomi 15T Pro is a well-rounded flagship smartphone with no major deficiencies. Unlike past T series Pro models, which often lagged behind more premium flagships, the 15T Pro closes the gap. It adds a periscopic telephoto camera and reverse wireless charging — two key features missing from the 14T series. On top of that, Xiaomi also increased the size of both the display and the battery.
What’s largely unchanged from last year’s model, though, is the design. The 15T Pro has a flat display, an aluminum frame, a glass back, and rounded edges just like its predecessor. The new device is slightly trimmer, shaving off about 0.4mm of thickness, but it still weighs about the same. While the colors this year are less industrial-looking, the overall design is very similar, right down to the camera bump.
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