On the stage of the Snapdragon Summit, Xiaomi has unveiled two new flagships, the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, that carry forward the long human effort to put ever more capable machinery into the palm of a hand. Built on Qualcomm's newest silicon, they mark a quiet shift in what a phone is expected to hold: larger batteries without added bulk, cameras of extraordinary resolution, and a privacy control that now reaches down to individual pieces of a screen. Launching first in China with a global rollout promised but undated, they invite a question that will be answered in the coming months, namely ho
Xiaomi 18 Pro Max Debuts With Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and Split-Screen Privacy Display
Privacy mode for specific on-screen elements, not just the whole display
Mark
Two phones, same cameras, same screen tech. So what actually separates the 18 Pro from the Pro Max?
Mimi
Mostly the chip, the size and the battery. The Pro gets the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and a 6.4-inch screen with 7,000mAh. The Pro Max gets the Extreme variant, 6.9 inches and 8,500mAh.
Mark
And the privacy display is the headline?
Mimi
It's what the article calls the real innovation. Instead of narrowing the whole screen's viewing angle, it can protect specific things like notifications, floating windows or a split-screen pane.
Luke
Worth noting that's described, not tested. The report doesn't say how well it works, or how the viewing angle holds up in practice.
Mark
Fair. What about the rear screen?
Mimi
It's now 2.7 inches and runs on the revised Xiao AI. You can make AI wallpapers, widgets and little mini-apps like a cooking timer.
Luke
Again, those are features announced on stage. Nothing here tells us how reliable the AI app-building is.
Mark
The prices?
Mimi
About $895 and $1,045 for the 12GB/256GB versions.
Luke
Those are approximate dollar figures, and the launch is in China first. The global rollout is only promised as coming shortly, with no dates or regional prices.
Der Puls
- Two flagships arrive at once, and the chip split between the 18 Pro and the Pro Max sets up a quiet contest over who gets the most powerful processor.
- Batteries swell to 7,000mAh and 8,500mAh while the bodies stay slim, pressing manufacturers to prove that endurance and thinness can coexist.
- A new privacy system lets owners shield only chosen parts of the screen, turning a blunt feature into a precise tool for crowded public spaces.
- Launch begins in China at roughly $895, and the global rollout remains undated, leaving buyers outside China waiting to learn the final price and availability.
On the stage of the Snapdragon Summit, Xiaomi has unveiled two new flagships, the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, that carry forward the long human effort to put ever more capable machinery into the palm of a hand. Built on Qualcomm's newest silicon, they mark a quiet shift in what a phone is expected to hold: larger batteries without added bulk, cameras of extraordinary resolution, and a privacy control that now reaches down to individual pieces of a screen. Launching first in China with a global rollout promised but undated, they invite a question that will be answered in the coming months, namely how far these advances will travel beyond their first home.
At the Snapdragon Summit, Xiaomi revealed the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, two flagships built around Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series. Hot Hardware's Aaron Leong was on hand as the phones were shown, and the first thing to understand is the chip split. The standard 18 Pro is billed as the first phone with the Gen 6 chip, while the Pro Max takes the higher Extreme variant. Both can carry up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
The screens share a spec sheet, with 2K LTPO AMOLED panels reaching 4,000 nits and protected by Dragon Crystal Glass 3. Only the size differs, at 6.4 inches on the smaller model and 6.9 on the Pro Max. The feature Hot Hardware calls the real innovation is a privacy system that can hide selected elements on the display, such as split-screen windows, floating panes and notifications, rather than blacking out the whole screen.
On the back sits an enlarged 2.7-inch secondary display, driven by a revised Xiao AI assistant. It doubles as a selfie viewfinder and lets users create AI wallpapers, interactive widgets and small custom apps on the spot. The camera hardware is identical across both models, led by a 200MP main sensor and a 200MP periscope telephoto with 3.2x optical zoom.
Battery growth is the headline number: 7,000mAh on the 18 Pro and 8,500mAh on the Pro Max, achieved without thickening the bodies. Charging reaches 100W wired and 50W wireless, both phones are rated IP69, and they will ship with HyperOS 4 on Android 17. Pricing starts near $895 for the 18 Pro and about $1,045 for the Pro Max, both with 12GB and 256GB. The phones launch in China first, with a global rollout promised soon but no dates yet.
At the Snapdragon Summit, Xiaomi pulled the cover off two new flagships: the Xiaomi 18 Pro and the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max. Both are built around Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series, and the Hot Hardware writer, Aaron Leong, was at the event as they were shown.
The chip split is the first thing to know. The standard 18 Pro is billed as the world's first phone with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. The Pro Max takes the higher variant, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. Either processor can be paired with up to 16GB of DDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage.
The screens share a spec sheet. Both use 2K LTPO AMOLED panels that vary from 1 to 120 Hz, reach 4,000 nits of peak brightness, and are covered by Xiaomi Dragon Crystal Glass 3. The difference is size: 6.4 inches on the 18 Pro, 6.9 inches on the Pro Max.
The feature Hot Hardware singles out as the real innovation is a hardware-level privacy system. Some phones already offer full-screen privacy that limits viewing from the side. Xiaomi's new models can apply privacy mode to selected elements on the display instead, including split-screen mode, floating windows and notifications.
On the back, both phones keep the secondary display that earlier Xiaomi models popularized, now enlarged to 2.7 inches. It is driven by a revised version of Xiaomi's Xiao AI assistant. Beyond serving as a viewfinder for selfies taken with the main camera, it lets users generate custom AI wallpapers, set up interactive widgets, and build personalized mini-apps on the spot, such as water intake reminders or cooking timers.
The camera hardware is identical across the pair. The main sensor is 200MP with an f/1.7 aperture. A second 200MP sensor sits behind a periscope telephoto lens with 3.2x optical zoom. A 50MP ultrawide covers a 102-degree field of view, and the front-facing camera is also 50MP.
Battery capacity is where the numbers moved most, and Hot Hardware notes it happened without making the bodies thicker. The 18 Pro carries a 7,000mAh cell, and the Pro Max steps up to 8,500mAh. Charging is 100W wired, 50W wireless, and 27W reverse wireless. Both phones are rated IP69 and will ship with Xiaomi HyperOS 4, which is based on Android 17. Colors are Black, White, Icy Peach Pink, Galaxy Blue, and a Transparent edition.
Pricing starts at roughly $895 for the 18 Pro with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The Pro Max opens at about $1,045 in the same configuration. The phones launch first in China, and Xiaomi has confirmed a broader global rollout will follow shortly, though no dates were given. Regional pricing outside China is the thing to watch next.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
A broader global rollout will follow shortly after the initial launch in China.— Xiaomi, as reported by Hot Hardware
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