I’ve had my fair share of impressive small smartphones this year, from Google’s Pixel 11 Proto Vivo’s excellent X500 Pro. And after spending time with several foldables and camera flagships, you’d think another conventional slab phone would be boring. So the Xiaomi 18 Pro had a lot of impressing to do, and well, it has me hooked…. already.
I’ve only had the global model for a couple of days, but it’s already made quite an impression. Between its gorgeous finish, useful rear display, and a feature-packed HyperOS 4 experience, there’s plenty here to get excited about. The best part is that Xiaomi has managed to squeeze all of this into a relatively compact flagship.
With its global launch scheduled for November 17 in Paris, here’s what has stood out to me so far.
I can’t get enough of this design
The first thing that caught my attention was the Cosmic Blue finish. It looks absolutely gorgeous in person, with a reflective glass back that has an almost silky, soft-touch quality when you run your fingers across it. Xiaomi has paired that glass with an aluminum alloy frame, giving the phone a reassuringly premium construction. I’ve been using the Vivo X500 Pro recently, and while both are beautifully built, the Xiaomi has a distinctly different personality. It’s glossier, flashier, and just catches your eye every time.
All of this beauty comes at a price. The back is very prone to fingerprints, and even the smallest specks of dust become obvious under the right lighting. It’s also very slippery, but I refuse to cover up the back with a case. Fortunately, Xiaomi includes one in the box, alongside a USB-C cable. My European review unit doesn’t include a charging brick.
Its compact dimensions make one-handed use possible, but the weight is noticeable. It’s in roughly the same 200-gram territory as my Pixel 11 Pro, so it’s not as effortless to handle as the Vivo X500 Pro. I also don’t mind the enormous camera housing. In fact, integrating the secondary display into the module gives the rear a distinctive appearance without making the whole thing look unnecessarily busy. The recent iPhone Pros are the obvious inspiration, but they serve more of a purpose here.
That rear display is just lovely to have
I’ve seen secondary displays on smartphones before, including Xiaomi’s previous flagship. However, after having the 18 Pro around for a couple of days, I’m beginning to appreciate why Xiaomi continues investing in the idea. The most useful application for me so far is easily photography.
I’ve been taking plenty of selfies using the rear cameras, with the secondary display acting as a viewfinder. You can frame yourself properly, adjust camera controls, and capture a photo without relying on the conventional front-facing camera. The UI built for the tiny screen is also surprisingly well made and feels quite intuitive.
Another handy use case was with music controls, which had me interacting with the back display for quick controls. I find it a little charming, even if it’s not the most convenient. Sometimes a bigger screen is just easier to work with. There’s also Lumi, Xiaomi’s animated companion, which I’m particularly curious to explore further. I haven’t spent enough time with it yet to offer a meaningful opinion.
For now, the rear display has already proved useful through the camera alone, and I’m interested to see how much more it can contribute to everyday use.
HyperOS 4 has a few new tricks
Xiaomi’s HyperOS has always been among the more customizable Android interfaces, and HyperOS 4 doesn’t deviate from this. You get plenty of options to personalize the phone, from themes and Always-On Display styles to fingerprint animations, lock screens, and other visual elements. The interface also feels quick and fluid during everyday navigation.
Of course, the iOS-ification of Android continues, and Xiaomi seems quite enthusiastic about translucent, Liquid Glass-inspired effects. They’re everywhere, and I’ve started finding this increasingly common aesthetic a little tiring. Thankfully, Xiaomi gives users plenty of room to make the interface their own.
I was also happy to find Motion Assist, which is among my favorite additions to Android 17. It helps reduce motion sickness while using your phone in a moving vehicle, and it’s great to see Xiaomi keeping pace with the useful quality-of-life features offered by Google and Vivo.
The notification and quick settings tray, though, aren’t my favourite. Just like many other brands, including Apple, these two are now split. I’ve never enjoyed having to swipe from different sides of the display to access notifications and controls. Google’s Pixel interface keeps things simple. Even Vivo’s OriginOS lets users choose a combined layout. I wish Xiaomi offered the same flexibility. Regardless, you can probably customize everything else around it to suit your vibe.
A gorgeous display that adds privacy
The main display is another big highlight. The bezels are remarkably thin and symmetrical, giving the phone a clean, almost edge-to-edge appearance. It’s a proper flagship-grade panel that checks every premium box. However, Xiaomi’s Privacy Display is the real star here.
Much like Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra, the Xiaomi 18 Pro can restrict what people see when looking at the display from an angle. But Xiaomi’s implementation is a bit different. From my early experience, the privacy effect appears less aggressive than Samsung’s, but it also preserves more of the display’s perceived color richness and clarity when enabled. I actually find that trade-off worthwhile, although I’ll need more time with both implementations before drawing firm conclusions.
Leica’s cameras have me excited for what’s next
Xiaomi has also packed some serious camera hardware into this relatively compact phone, including a 200MP main camera and a 200MP telephoto with a 75mm-equivalent focal length. The telephoto’s large 1/1.56-inch sensor is what has me the most excited. There are differences compared with the larger Pro Max, including the absence of LOFIC technology on the smaller model, but I’ll save those comparisons for the full review.
For now, I’ve been enjoying exploring the Leica camera interface. Having previously used the Xiaomi 15 as my daily driver, I’ve always appreciated the character Xiaomi brings to its photography. Its Leica filters remain some of my favorites, and that’s what makes the new Leica Original shooting style a new toy to play around with. It sits alongside Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic, offering a different interpretation of color without the pronounced vignetting that can put some people off the traditional Leica aesthetic.
I’m also eager to spend more time with Essential mode. There’s a lot to explore here, and you can wait for our full review to get all of the fun details.
I can’t wait to spend more time with it
It’s still early days with the Xiaomi 18 Pro, and there are several things I haven’t properly evaluated, including sustained performance, battery endurance, charging, and the full camera experience. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 has made everyday interactions feel wonderfully responsive so far, but I’ll reserve any performance conclusions until I’ve completed my testing.
What I can say is that Xiaomi is already making me want to rush other reviews to daily drive its latest compact flagship. And for another conventional smartphone in an increasingly crowded flagship market, this excitement is a rare achievement for me.
