Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max go on sale in China, with a global launch promised this year
Two 200MP Leica cameras, screens on the back, and a privacy display that turns itself on when someone looks over your shoulder.
Xiaomi's new flagship pair is already on sale in China, and Xiaomi has confirmed the 18 Pro series will launch globally later this year. For now the Chinese prices are the only yardstick a buyer has: CNY 5,999 for the 18 Pro, about $840, and CNY 6,999 for the 18 Pro Max, about $980.
The Pro uses a 6.4-inch OLED, the Pro Max a 6.9-inch one. Both have a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, bezels measuring 0.99mm, and a claimed peak brightness of 4,000 nits, and both carry a second screen on the back, 2.7 inches on the Pro and 2.9 inches on the Pro Max, which Xiaomi says supports more than 100 app cards at launch covering notifications, quick controls, mini-games and AI-generated designs.
The more interesting panel is the front one. It has hardware-level privacy protection that can detect people looking at the phone and activate itself, and according to 9to5Google the front camera handles that detection. As per a report from The Verge, location-based triggers can switch it on in crowded public areas. Xiaomi says it can also come on automatically for sensitive apps and content.
Camera hardware is identical across the two. Each has a 200MP main sensor, the 1/1.28-inch Light Hunter 960, a 200MP periscope telephoto on a 1/1.56-inch sensor, and a 50MP ultrawide, all under Leica branding. The telephoto is rated at 3.2x optical zoom with a claimed 12.8x lossless zoom, 75mm portrait shooting and macro focusing from 12cm. Xiaomi has paired the hardware with Legendary Moment, an imaging system that mixes on-device and cloud processing and adds three dedicated photographic styles.
Where the two models differ is silicon and battery. The 18 Pro runs a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 with a 7,000mAh cell, the Pro Max steps up to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 with 8,500mAh, and Xiaomi claims the batteries will still hold at least 80% of their original capacity after 2,000 charge cycles.
Wired charging is listed at 100W, with 27W wired reverse charging. The wireless number is less settled. Some reports put it at 27W, others at 50W.
Software is HyperOS 4, with an updated Alive Design interface and Super XiaoAI 2.0. Colours are Black, White, Ice Peach Pink and Galaxy Blue, plus a transparent edition.
Xiaomi India has already teased the next step, posting that "Xiaomi 18 Pro is going global. Coming soon. Get ready."
Published by Techtutka ·