Xiaomi has announced its latest flagship series, the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, featuring massive batteries, advanced imaging capabilities with Leica branding, and a twin-screen design, setting a new benchmark for premium smartphones.
Xiaomi has formally unveiled the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max in China, moving its flagship line further towards oversized batteries, high-end imaging and a rear display that remains a defining design cue for the series. The launch also confirms that the company is continuing to position the Pro Max as the more aggressive model, with a larger battery, a bigger screen and a higher-spec chipset than the standard Pro. Chinese reports on the day of launch said the event took place on 23 September 2026 at 7pm local time.
Both phones keep the twin-screen approach seen on earlier Xiaomi flagships. According to the launch details, the 18 Pro uses a 6.4-inch AMOLED panel, while the 18 Pro Max stretches to 6.9 inches. Each supports up to a 120Hz refresh rate, 300Hz touch sampling, peak brightness of 4,000 nits and DCI-P3 colour coverage. Xiaomi has also added a privacy display mode intended to reduce side viewing angles and make shoulder surfing more difficult.
The hardware split between the two models is more pronounced under the bonnet. Xiaomi says the 18 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, while the Pro Max uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. Both chips are described as 2nm parts with a peak clock speed of 5GHz, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5x memory and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. The phones also ship with HyperOS 4 based on Android 17, and Xiaomi has kept dual-SIM support, in-display fingerprint recognition and face unlock.
Imaging remains one of the headline features. Xiaomi has fitted both handsets with a triple rear camera system led by a 200-megapixel main sensor with optical image stabilisation, a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto unit and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera. Both phones can record 8K video at 30 frames per second, and each includes a 50-megapixel selfie camera. Industry summaries ahead of launch also highlighted Leica branding on the camera system, reinforcing Xiaomi’s continued focus on premium photography.
Battery capacity is another area where Xiaomi has pushed harder. The Pro Max carries an 8,500mAh cell, while the Pro comes with a 7,000mAh battery. Both support 100W wired charging, 50W wireless charging and 27W reverse wired charging. Connectivity includes 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 and navigation support for GPS, GLONASS, QZSS, NavIC and Galileo. Xiaomi is offering the phones in Black, Ice Peach Pink, Starry Blue and White, with Chinese pricing starting at CNY 5,999 for the 18 Pro and CNY 6,999 for the Pro Max.
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