Xiaomi 18 Pro series goes official with ‘privacy screen,’ 8,500 mAh battery, and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6

Xiaomi has just launched its new Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max in China with flagship specs, massive batteries, and a pair of 200MP cameras too.

With a global launch to come later, Xiaomi has unveiled its new Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. Both devices run on the latest Snapdragon chips and carry over features from last year, such as the rear-facing display.

The big new feature here is a “privacy screen,” Xiaomi’s implementation of the Privacy Display from Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra. Xiaomi immediately one-ups Samsung by putting the tech on both its top-end and compact flagship releases, while also supporting the feature more flexibly in its software. This also includes a feature that uses the front-facing camera to detect onlookers and activate the privacy screen automatically, as well as location-based triggers so it can turn on in crowded public areas without you needing to manually activate it, as The Verge points out.

The rest of the spec sheet is strong, with solid-looking displays on both devices, huge batteries, and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 in both devices – the Pro Max getting the “Extreme” variant. Visually, both phones look identical, though the Pro Max gets a crazy-looking transparent edition.

Xiaomi’s 18 Pro series starts at 5,999CNY, just shy of $900 USD, but international pricing remains to be seen. The Xiaomi 17 launched internationally in February 2026, so we can probably expect a similar timeline this time, but Xiaomi has confirmed the Pro models will debut outside of China this time, unlike the Xiaomi 17 Pro.

More on Xiaomi:

• Xiaomi 18 Fold goes on sale with full specs and a Galaxy Z Fold 8 comparison [Gallery]
• Xiaomi Pad 9 Pro Max has a 13.3-inch display, Android 17, and a 12,000 mAh battery
• Xiaomi is the latest to add AirDrop support with Quick Share to its Android phones

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