Stephen Radochia / Android Authority
TL;DR
- New leak offers a good first look at Xiaomi’s Smart privacy display, the company’s take on Samsung’s hardware feature with a similar name.
- When available, users will be able to hide their screen from shoulder surfers while viewing specific apps, notifications, or other sensitive pages.
- The feature is expected to roll out as part of the HyperOS 4 update later this year.
Samsung changed the game with the introduction of Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This tech effectively blacks out the screen when viewed from certain angles, specifically to avoid onlookers’ gaze. Since May, we’ve known that Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi is working on a similar feature for its own devices. A new leak now gives us a good look at the company’s implementation.
In a post on X, leaker Kacper Skrzypek has revealed multiple elements of Xiaomi’s Smart privacy display, which appears fairly similar to Samsung’s iteration. However, since it is expected to be available as part of the Hyper OS 4 update this year, it is likely a software-based solution, unlike Samsung’s version.
That’s how “Smart privacy display” options will look on supported #Xiaomi device (likely upcoming flagship).
Video recorded on Global ROM. “Page privacy display” and Xiaomi Hyper XiaoAi groups are, at least for now, available only on China ROM. pic.twitter.com/AigocVrasZ
One of the screenshots published by Skrzypek mentions “Hardware-level privacy” for Smart privacy display. The included video, on the other hand, gives us a decent look at how the feature will work. When available, users should be able to enable Smart privacy display across the device and for individual apps. The page for the latter, known as App privacy display, also lets you toggle it for notifications.
Meanwhile, other screenshots reveal “Page privacy display” and XiaoAI app groups. The leaker says these two functions are only visible on the China-specific version of HyperOS for now, though the rest appear to be visible on the global variant.
When Page privacy display is enabled, it can hide “specific sensitive pages” from shoulder surfers, such as passwords, payments, transfers, and messaging, the page says. We’re getting a good look at some of the limitations of Smart privacy display as well, with the company noting that some third-party themes may not support it for lock screen notifications and that it won’t work in landscape mode.
Xiaomi also notes that Smart privacy display could “slightly increase power consumption” and will be temporarily turned off when battery saver mode is enabled. Additionally, the company says “brightness compensation” for the feature may be paused while viewing HDR content.
While these visuals give us a decent understanding of how Smart privacy display is supposed to work, we’ll reserve judgment on its capabilities until we’ve had the chance to try it out ourselves.
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