Xiaomi's new phone takes a cue from Samsung with an Ultra-esque upgrade

Quick summary

Xiaomi has confirmed that its next smartphone series - the Xiaomi 18 Pro - will feature a privacy display.

Samsung first introduced the tech in the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but it appears there will be more privacy display options in the future.

Xiaomi has confirmed one of the features that's going to appear on its next flagship phone, the Xiaomi 18 Pro.

Looking to Samsung for inspiration, Xiaomi has announced that the Xiaomi 18 Pro will feature a privacy screen, meaning you'll be able to stop people peeping at your content.

Samsung introduced the tech on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, with the privacy feature built into the display. By controlling which pixels illuminate, it's possible to produce a narrower visible area, so those viewing at an angle can't see what's on the display.

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While Xiaomi hasn't confirmed the underlying technology that the display uses, it's likely to be the same approach and potentially uses a panel from Samsung Display.

The Xiaomi 18 Pro launch is expected at any moment, with the official tease coming from Weibo (via 9to5Google). It's worth noting that Xiaomi says that it's coming to the Xiaomi 18 Pro series, so there's a chance that it could be on more than one model, not just Xiaomi's top model.

The key to privacy display is that it's not just a universal solution - it can be customised to only work on particular apps or notifications, so you're only keeping the parts of your screen private that actually matter.

At first glance, the implementation by Xiaomi appears to be slightly more enhanced that Samsung's offering, although that's probably something that Samsung will address with the launch of the Galaxy S27 Ultra.

Samsung's privacy display isn't perfect: while it will restrict viewing from oblique angles, so that someone next to you on the train can't see what's on your screen for example, it does make the display dimmer overall, so it's not quite as punchy.

Having it only work with particular apps, like banking or messaging apps, makes for a better experience because the rest of your phone can remain bright and brilliant, while your privacy is still protected.

The Xiaomi 18 Pro will be announced on 23 September in China, with a global launch later in the year, making it the first device with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon hardware.

On stage at Snapdragon Summit Adam Zeng, SVP and president of international business at Xiaomi confirmed that the Xiaomi 18 Pro will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, while the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max will be powered by the Snapdragon Elite Extreme Gen 6.

It will also have a back display and use a dual 200-megapixel camera powered by Leica.

Previous leaks have suggested that it will have a huge 8500mAh battery.

The Xiaomi 18 Pro will join the Xiaomi 18 Fold that was recently demoed at IFA 2026.

Chris has been writing about consumer tech for over 15 years. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Pocket-lint, he's covered just about every product launched, witnessed the birth of Android, the evolution of 5G, and the drive towards electric cars. You name it and Chris has written about it, driven it or reviewed it. Now working as a freelance technology expert, Chris' experience sees him covering all aspects of smartphones, smart homes and anything else connected. Chris has been published in titles as diverse as Computer Active and Autocar, and regularly appears on BBC News, BBC Radio, Sky, Monocle and Times Radio. He was once even on The Apprentice... but we don't talk about that.