Xiaomi 18 Pro hands-on — an iPhone lookalike with an extra screen and a potentially Samsung-beating Privacy Display

Dual-screen phones are having a moment (hello, iPhone Duo ), but if you’re not yet ready to go full foldable, Xiaomi will meet you halfway: the Xiaomi 18 Pro comes with one-and-a-bit screens, and it’s shipping “globally” next year.

The successors to last year’s China-only Xiaomi 17 Pro , the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max boast an extra display on their respective rear panels: a 2.66-inch OLED for the Pro and a 2.86-inch, 120Hz OLED for the Pro Max.

These mini screens can display widgets, wallpapers, and media controls, and can be used to frame selfies taken with the phones’ rear cameras.

That’s similar to the offering of last year’s Xiaomi 17 Pro devices, though with this year’s phones, Xiaomi is introducing its own — and potentially even better — take on Samsung’s popular Privacy Display technology. @techradar ♬ Push To Start - Noizu & Westend Like Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Xiaomi’s Smart Privacy Display can restrict viewing angles to prevent people from snooping on you at angles beyond 60 degrees, and can also work its magic on notifications and widgets without affecting the rest of the display.

Notably, though, Xiaomi’s take on the technology can be applied to apps used in split-screen mode (maybe you only want to obscure one app, and not the other), as well as to specific locations and app notifications (because some pop-ups are more risqué than others). (Image credit: Future) Smart Privacy Display is a feature of both the Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max, though the latter obviously has a larger screen: it’s 6.9 inches vs.

6.4 inches on the Pro.

I got the chance to get hands-on with the smaller Pro model at Snapdragon Summit 2026 (thanks, Qualcomm, for flying me out to Hawaii), and although I wasn’t able to unlock the display unit to test Smart Privacy Display, the rear OLED display was partially functional.

I used it to snap a few selfies using the Xiaomi 18 Pro’s 200MP main lens, which can be activated with a wave gesture or a press of the volume button.

Future Future As for the size and weight of the device, it’s (very) similar to the iPhone 18 Pro, which I suspect is a deliberate choice on Xiaomi’s part.

Lest we forget that the iPhone Duo-like Xiaomi 18 Fold launched exactly one day before the iPhone Duo last month.

Other specs include the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipsets for the Pro and Pro Max, respectively, as well as a shared triple-lens camera array comprising a 200MP main lens, a 200MP telephoto lens, and a 50MP ultra-wide lens.

The Pro gets a 7,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, while the Pro Max gets a larger 8,500mAh cell.

Those capacities may be smaller outside of China, though.

Future Future We also don’t have much clarity on what Xiaomi means by a “global” launch.