Hot on the heels of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and 8 Elite Gen 6 announcement, Xiaomi unveiled two flagships featuring the new chips. These two are already on sale in China and Xiaomi has confirmed that the Xiaomi 18 Pro series will be available globally.
“When?” and “How much?” are questions for another date. We wanted to get your first reaction to the new models – do you like the direction in which Xiaomi is taking its flagship series? Would you buy one and which one?
Let’s do a quick introduction – the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max is the big 6.9” flagship. It gets the “Extreme” version of the Snapdragon. Compared to the 17 Pro Max, we note a change up in the camera section – the 50MP 1/1.28” main sensor gets replaced by a 200MP 1/1.28” sensor, while the 50MP 5x/115mm periscope gets swapped out for a 200MP 3.2x/75mm module. The telephoto lens is shorter, but the higher resolution allows for more in-sensor zoom, giving the phone more reach.
Xiaomi 18 Pro (left) and 18 Pro Max (right)
The new Pro Max also has a bigger battery – 8,500mAh, 1,000mAh more than its predecessor. What capacity might we see in Europe? Maybe Xiaomi will take a page out of Apple’s playbook and ship the big batteries. What about India? Here’s the thing – while the main post promised that the 18 Pro series is going global (mentioning “series” explicitly), the post by Xiaomi India only mentioned the 18 Pro.
The Xiaomi 18 Pro is the smaller of the pair, but it now sports a 6.4” display. The good news is that the extra 0.1” over its predecessor mostly came out of the bezels – the new Pro is only 0.7mm taller and 0.2mm wider than the old Pro. This also pairs with a larger 7,000mAh battery (+700mAh).
Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max battery capacities
This one uses the regular Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip. It features two 200MP cameras – a 1/1.28” main and a 3.2x/75mm periscope. These replace a 50MP 1/1.28” main and a 50MP 5x/115mm periscope, respectively. Here are the new and old models compared. Both 18 Pro models have 50MP ultra-wides and 50MP selfie cameras, by the way.
Both phones also have displays on their camera islands too – 2.9” for the Pro Max and 2.7” for the Pro. These come in handy for selfies, but Xiaomi also added new AI capabilities – the AI can create apps for you, which will run on those rear displays.
We only have Chinese pricing to go on for now. The Xiaomi 18 Pro (12/256GB) starts at CNY 6,000 ($895 / £675 / €785 / ₹85,800), while the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max (12/256GB) starts at CNY 7,000 ($1,050 / £790 / €915 / ₹100,000). While the global models will cost more than the straight currency conversion suggests, the question remains – how much? We’re not sure yet, but all next-gen flagships are going up in price (even mid-rangers and entry-level phones have seen price hikes).
Once the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max goes global – and assuming it’s available in your region – can you see yourself buying a Pro Max?
What about the smaller Xiaomi 18 Pro – do you prefer it over the large model or not?