Xiaomi’s new 18 Pro phones improve on Samsung’s privacy display

Xiaomi’s new 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max launched in China today, and feature a more flexible take on the privacy display tech introduced this year on Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra. They combine it with returning rear screens, two 200-megapixel cameras, and both of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips. A global launch is confirmed for later this year — especially welcome since last year’s 17 Pro phones skipped international markets.

The two 18 Pro phones look similar to the 17 Pros, with similar compact displays built around the rear cameras, capable of displaying notifications, taking selfies, playing simple games, and more.

The bigger changes are to the front screen, which is now equipped with hardware-level privacy features much like the S26 Ultra’s. Xiaomi’s implementation looks smarter than Samsung’s though: when you activate it for a specific app, it will not only turn on when that app is opened, but apply to notifications, floating windows, and split-screen views, without affecting the rest of the display. Location-based triggers allow you to set it to turn on when you reach work, or off when you come home, with smart triggers for when it detects locations like airports or elevators. It can also use the selfie camera to detect prying eyes and suggest activating the privacy mode.

The two phones differ in size, with a 6.4-inch display on the Pro and 6.9 inches for the Pro Max. Battery varies accordingly: 7,000mAh or 8,500mAh respectively, using a high 32 percent silicon content. 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, though differences between the two chips are slight.

Cameras are led by a 200-megapixel main camera using a large 1/1.28-inch-type sensor (the Light Fusion 960 in the Pro, and 960L in the Pro Max, though they seem similar). A 200-megapixel, 75mm telephoto joins it, the same on both phones, using Samsung’s 1/1.56-inch HP5 sensor and with a minimum focus distance of 12cm. A 50-megapixel ultrawide 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 (about $900), and join the 18 Fold in Xiaomi’s new flagship lineup, but we’re still waiting for the regular Xiaomi 18 and the 18 Ultra, likely to appear next spring. An international launch for at least one 18 Pro phone will come later this year, though we’re still waiting to hear if the Fold will ever leave China.