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Marques Brownlee - Xiaomi 18 Pro Max: They've Done It Again!

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Author: Marques Brownlee
Categories: Technology
Tags: technology
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 08:09 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max is a strong flagship that one-ups the iPhone 18 Pro Max on display privacy, chip performance, battery and charging, and cameras, though software polish remains the iPhone's advantage. The review frames it as a close competitor rather than a full review, since the reviewer used a China-version unit and did not daily-drive it. Its biggest hardware gains come from a Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chip, an 8,500 mAh battery, and a new 200-megapixel telephoto and main camera setup.

Key Points

  • Privacy display: Xiaomi borrows Samsung's side-viewing-angle blocking idea but uses its HyperRGB subpixel layout, so the resolution drop is smaller, though it only blocks left and right angles.
  • Chip: The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 (2-nanometer) delivers roughly 15 to 20% better benchmark performance than last year's chips, with some cores reaching 5 GHz clock speeds.
  • Battery and charging: An 8,500 mAh battery, 100-watt wired charging that held about 80 watts during a 5-minute test (going from 12 to 25%), 50-watt wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging.
  • Cameras: A new 200-megapixel main camera and 200-megapixel telephoto (3.2x zoom) with a 50-megapixel ultrawide, plus 8K video and Leica color profiles; the reviewer called the ultrawide 'kind of an afterthought.'
  • Back display: A customizable rear screen that can serve as a camera viewfinder for high-quality selfies, along with widgets and downloadable content.
  • Software and ecosystem: Heavy iPhone-style aesthetics (Dynamic Island, quick controls, liquid glass) and a broad Xiaomi ecosystem of tablets, lights, appliances, and cars.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions: To use the privacy display, go to privacy settings (not display settings) and choose to turn it on for the whole screen, for specific apps or notifications, or in certain locations. Enable gaze detection so the phone alerts you when another person is looking at your screen and prompts you to turn on privacy display. To use the side button, a long press can launch a voice note, switch to silent or Do Not Disturb, or turn on the privacy display; a single press only adds the current activity to Xiao AI memory. To get the fastest charging, use the 100-watt charger included in the box. To use the phone as a battery bank, use reverse wireless charging.
  • Privacy display trade-offs: It has slightly worse overall viewing angles and a rainbow sheen when viewed off-axis, but Xiaomi compensates with a panel brightness of up to 4000 nits.
  • Button limitation: The reviewer wants the side button to launch any app with a single press, as Apple's Action Button allows.
  • Speakers: Rear-facing speakers are hidden under the back screen, and sound quality is not dramatically changed. The sound seems to face away from the user.
  • Camera: The telephoto sensor is very large, comparable to the primary cameras of many other phones, and 200 megapixels give strong cropping ability.

Bottom Line

Xiaomi's 18 Pro Max is a hardware-led answer to the iPhone 18 Pro Max, leading on specs, charging, and camera zoom. The reviewer still sees the iPhone's software experience as the thing Xiaomi must match to fully compete.