Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max launch in China with smarter privacy display

Xiaomi launches 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max in China

Xiaomi has announced its 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max flagships in China, and the standout feature is a privacy display that builds on the hardware-level approach Samsung introduced this year on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. According to The Verge, a global rollout is confirmed for later this year — a welcome change after last year's 17 Pro phones never reached international markets.

The two devices otherwise resemble their predecessors, including the small secondary screen wrapped around the rear camera cluster that can show notifications, take selfies and run simple games.

A more flexible privacy display

The key upgrade sits on the front screen. Like Samsung's flagship, Xiaomi applies privacy protection at the hardware level, but the implementation appears more granular. Once privacy mode is enabled for a given app, The Verge reports, it covers not just that app but also its notifications, floating windows and split-screen views — without affecting the rest of the display.

Triggers go beyond a manual toggle. The system can switch privacy mode on when the phone detects you have arrived at work and off when you get home, and it includes smart triggers for places such as airports and elevators. The selfie camera can also spot someone looking over your shoulder and suggest turning the mode on.

Displays, silicon and batteries

The two models differ mainly in scale. The 18 Pro carries a 6.4-inch display while the 18 Pro Max stretches to 6.9 inches, with batteries to match: 7,000mAh on the smaller phone and 8,500mAh on the larger, both using cells with a high 32 percent silicon content.

Both phones run on Qualcomm's newly announced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 platform, with the Pro using the standard Elite chip and the Pro Max stepping up to the Extreme version. The Verge characterises the difference between the two chips as slight.

Triple cameras led by two 200-megapixel sensors

Photography is handled by a trio of rear cameras. The main shooter is a 200-megapixel unit built around a large 1/1.28-inch-type sensor — Xiaomi's Light Fusion 960 on the Pro and the 960L on the Pro Max, which The Verge says appear similar. It is joined by a 200-megapixel telephoto with a 75mm focal length that uses Samsung's 1/1.56-inch HP5 sensor and focuses as close as 12cm, plus a 50-megapixel ultrawide.

Pricing and availability

The phones start at ¥5,999 (about $900) in China and join the 18 Fold in Xiaomi's new flagship lineup. The Verge notes it remains unclear whether the foldable will ever ship outside China, but at least one of the 18 Pro models will go international later this year. The standard Xiaomi 18 and the 18 Ultra are expected to arrive next spring.

The launch caps a busy stretch for Chinese Android flagships, following similar announcements this week for the Vivo X500 and the Oppo Find X10.

Why it matters

Xiaomi has taken Samsung's privacy display concept and turned it into a genuinely configurable system — one that reacts to context such as location, split-screen layouts and even onlookers, rather than working as a simple on/off switch. If it works as described, it sets a benchmark that Samsung and other rivals will be measured against in the next flagship cycle.

The confirmed international release also restores a flagship line that skipped global markets last year, giving buyers outside China another high-end option just as the autumn launch season heats up.