Xiaomi’s new 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max launched in China today and feature a more flexible version of the privacy display technology introduced this year on Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra. They pair it with returning rear displays, two 200-megapixel cameras, and Qualcomm’s two new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips. A global launch is confirmed for later this year, something especially welcome since last year’s 17 Pro phones skipped international markets.
The two 18 Pro phones look similar to the 17 Pro, with similar compact displays built around the rear cameras, capable of displaying notifications, taking selfies, playing simple games, and more.
The most important changes occur on the front screen, which is now equipped with hardware-level privacy functions very similar to those of the S26 Ultra. However, Xiaomi’s implementation seems smarter than Samsung’s: when you activate it for a specific app, it will not only activate when that app is opened, but will apply to notifications, floating windows, and split-screen views, without affecting the rest of the screen. Location-based triggers let you set it to turn on when you arrive at work or off when you return home, with smart triggers for when it detects locations like airports or elevators. You can also use the selfie camera to detect prying eyes and suggest turning on privacy mode.
The two phones differ in size, with a 6.4-inch screen on the Pro and 6.9 inches on the Pro Max. The battery varies accordingly: 7,000 mAh or 8,500 mAh respectively, with a high silicon content of 32 percent. The other difference between the two is the chipset, with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 Elite in the Pro and the Extreme version in the Pro Max, although the differences between the two chips are slight.
The cameras are led by a 200-megapixel main camera that uses a large 1/1.28-inch sensor (the Light Fusion 960 on the Pro and 960L on the Pro Max, although they look similar). Added to this is a 200-megapixel, 75mm telephoto lens, the same on both phones, which uses Samsung’s 1/1.56-inch HP5 sensor and with a minimum focusing distance of 12cm. A 50-megapixel ultra-wide angle completes the trio.
Xiaomi’s launch follows similar announcements this week for the Vivo X500 and Oppo Find X10 flagships. The two 18 Pro phones start from ¥5,999 (around $900) and join the 18 Fold in Xiaomi’s new flagship lineup, but we’re still waiting for the regular Xiaomi 18 and 18 Ultra, which will likely appear next spring. There will be an international launch of at least one 18 Pro phone later this year, although we’re still waiting to find out if the Fold will ever leave China.
