Just a couple of weeks after Apple announced its iPhone 18 Pro series, Xiaomi has unveiled its own 18 Pro series.
Seriously, while Apple has the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Xiaomi has just announced the Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max too.
Other than the obviously similar names, how do the two larger handsets really compare? Is one Pro Max a better fit for you than the other?
Ahead of our reviews, we’ve compared the specs of the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max to the iPhone 18 Pro Max and noted key differences between them. Read on to see what separates the phones and whether either stands a chance at making it into our best smartphones guide.
Price and Availability
At the time of writing, the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max is not available outside of China and we don’t actually know whether we’ll see a global launch.
In comparison, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is available globally to buy now, and has a starting RRP of £1299/$1299 for the 256GB handset.
Xiaomi 18 Pro Max runs on the latest flagship Qualcomm chip
Qualcomm has recently announced its latest flagship processors with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, with the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max running on the latter. Although we haven’t reviewed either of the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 processors, we expect them to offer serious power – especially as the older Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 powered most of the best Android phones too.
Even so, we should still look at the specs. According to Qualcomm, the Extreme iteration has the world’s fastest mobile CPU, delivers “breakthrough AI capabilities” and offers advanced performance too.
In comparison, the iPhone 18 Pro Max runs on Apple’s A20 Pro chip, which is hailed as the brand’s fastest ever iPhone chip. Like Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, we’re yet to review A20 Pro, but Apple promises it also has a CPU that’s the fastest in any smartphone, sees 40% faster graphics performance compared to last year’s A19 Pro, and runs Apple Intelligence too.
We’ll have to wait until we review both the phones to see how their respective chipsets really perform – and see which one is truly the fastest.
Both have three rear cameras, but the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max has a 200MP main lens
If photography is important to you, then both the iPhone 18 Pro Max and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max make pretty hefty claims. The iPhone 18 Pro Max is fitted with three rear cameras that are headlined by the 48MP fusion main lens with variable aperture. In fact, according to Apple, it’s the most “advanced camera” it has ever made too.
The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max is also fitted with three rear lenses, however it’s headlined by a mighty 200MP main camera, which is the same as the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. Considering the 17 Ultra has a spot on our best camera phones guide, we have high expectations for the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max – if it comes to the UK that is.
Xiaomi 18 Pro Max has a screen at the rear
Although both have 6.9-inch displays, once you flip both the handsets over the difference is immediate. While the iPhone 18 Pro Max undoubtedly looks slick, with a rectangular camera bar and four colour options to choose from, the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max has a screen on its camera bar. That’s just like the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max
Coined the Dynamic Back Display, the screen is designed to provide real-time notifications, selfie previews and can be customised with wallpapers too.
Xiaomi 18 Pro Max features a privacy display
It’s not just Apple that has influenced Xiaomi, but Samsung too. While Samsung introduced the Privacy Display within the Galaxy S26 Ultra, the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max also benefits from its own built-in privacy screen too.
As we haven’t reviewed the handset yet, we can’t confirm how well it works compared to the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s own, however it’s undoubtedly a useful addition to the handset and something we wish would roll out to more flagships smartphones too.
Exceptionally similar names aside, both the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max and iPhone 18 Pro Max look set to be brilliant flagship smartphones for Android or iOS purists respectively. However, considering the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max is only available in China, with no clear dates for a global launch, it’s not currently a very viable option.
We’ll update this versus once we know if the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max will launch globally, and when we review both handsets.