Xiaomi 18 Pro series debuts dual 200MP main and telephoto

Xiaomi will unveil the Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max tomorrow and has confirmed the phones' defining feature: a Leica dual 200-megapixel imaging system that pairs a high-resolution main camera with a periscope telephoto sensor.

Camera system

The company says the Xiaomi 18 Pro series uses a Leica dual 200-megapixel imaging system. Xiaomi confirmed the main camera is built around a 1/1.28-inch sensor and the periscope telephoto camera uses a 1/1.56-inch sensor, giving both lenses substantially more sensor area than typical high-resolution smartphone cameras.

• Main sensor: 200 megapixels on a 1/1.28-inch sensor.
• Periscope telephoto: 200 megapixels on a 1/1.56-inch sensor, f/2.4 aperture, native 75mm focal length.
• Zoom and focus: 3.2x optical zoom, up to 12.8x lossless zoom, and a floating dual-lens focusing system that allows close focus down to 12 cm for macro shots.

Xiaomi also stated that the telephoto camera's light intake has increased by 280 percent on the Xiaomi 18 Pro versus its predecessor, while the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max achieves an 83 percent increase.

Display and design

The Xiaomi 18 Pro series introduces a Super Pixel Display 2.0 with an M11 light-emitting system. Xiaomi reduced bezels to 0.99 mm from 1.18 mm on the previous generation and increased the corner curvature to create a more rounded appearance.

Performance, privacy and launch

Xiaomi said the two models will use different versions of the flagship chipset, with the Pro getting the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Pro Max receiving the sixth Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. Battery capacities are listed at 7,000 mAh for the Xiaomi 18 Pro and 8,500 mAh for the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max. Both devices will support 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.

The company confirmed hardware-level privacy protection that can be enabled for app notifications, floating windows, split-screen content and lock-screen notifications, and said a customizable AI button can activate system-wide privacy protection with a single press.

The Xiaomi 18 Pro series will launch on September 23 at 7:00 PM local time.