Xiaomi will no longer be cheap. New flagships with a rear display are heading to Europe, prices will not please

Are you looking forward to the latest series of Xiaomi flagships, expecting them to once again have an attractive price tag and not cost as much as the competition? Leaker Sudhanshu Ambhore has published the alleged European prices of both models, and the smaller Xiaomi 18 Pro will be almost as expensive as the Xiaomi 17 Ultra camera phone.

Xiaomi 18 Pro to start at approximately 35,000

The informant published the prices on X along with official global renders. Both phones are expected to offer 12 GB of RAM and 256 or 512 GB of storage in Europe. Specifically, he anticipates these prices:

• Xiaomi 18 Pro 12/256 GB: approximately 35,000 CZK (1,449 €)
• Xiaomi 18 Pro 12/512 GB: approximately 40,000 CZK (1,649 €)
• Xiaomi 18 Pro Max 12/256 GB: approximately 40,000 CZK (1,649 €)
• Xiaomi 18 Pro Max 12/512 GB: approximately 45,000 CZK (1,849 €)

The server YTECHB, which obtained the prices from its own sources, agrees with the leaker on everything except one minor detail – the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max in the 256GB configuration is missing from its overview. Four colors are expected to be available: black, white, Cosmic Blue, and Velvet Red, which, unlike the Chinese special edition, will not be transparent. Pink will apparently not come to Europe.

A comparison with last year is unflattering for Xiaomi. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra started in Europe at 1,499 euros, only 50 euros higher than this year’s base 18 Pro. The Pro model did not leave China at all last year, so it has no direct predecessor in Europe. In our country, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra was released in the spring for 35,990 CZK.

The main culprit can once again be considered the rising prices of RAM and storage. According to leaks, the same reason is behind the fact that the Xiaomi 18 Ultra will not be released at all.

Batteries will be smaller than in China

Smaller battery capacities compared to Chinese models can also be an inconvenience. The Xiaomi 18 Pro is expected to get a 6,000 mAh battery in Europe instead of the Chinese 7,000 mAh, while the Pro Max will have 7,050 mAh instead of 8,500 mAh. Smaller cells in global versions are nothing new; Vivo and Oppo follow similar practices. Additionally, the smaller model will slow down wired charging from 100 to 90 W, while the Pro Max will retain 100 W, according to YTECHB. Both phones will continue to charge wirelessly at 50 W.

Capacities are also confirmed by the European EPREL energy label database. The Xiaomi 18 Pro lists a battery life of up to 66.5 hours on a single charge, and the Pro Max 70 hours and 40 minutes. For both, the battery is expected to retain 80% of its original capacity after a thousand charging cycles.

What will Xiaomi 18 Pro and Pro Max offer?

The main attraction of both phones will be a display that can hide content from prying eyes. The panel can control the direction in which pixels emit light, so a person next to you will only see a dark area from the side. This protection can be applied only to selected applications, such as banking or notifications on the lock screen. The smaller model has a 6.4-inch diagonal, the Pro Max 6.9 inches, and the brightness of both reaches up to 4,000 nits.

Performance differs. The Xiaomi 18 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, while the more expensive Pro Max received the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, whose most powerful cores run up to 5 GHz. On the back of both models sits a trio of Leica cameras with a main 200Mpx sensor, a 200Mpx periscope with 3.2× optical zoom, and a 50Mpx ultrawide lens. The Pro Max also features LOFIC technology for the main camera for better backlit shots.

Also returning from last year is a small display next to the cameras, this time with a diagonal of 2.7 and 2.9 inches, respectively. It will serve as a viewfinder for selfies with the main cameras, and it will now be possible to add over a hundred application cards to it. The Pro Max also adds a third speaker and IP68 resistance up to a depth of 6 meters instead of 1.5 meters for the smaller model.

Xiaomi has not yet revealed when the phones will arrive in Europe. According to Notebookcheck, it could be as early as December, but the launch could just as easily extend into next year.

Would you pay around 35,000 CZK for the Xiaomi 18 Pro?

Sources: X, YTECHB, Notebookcheck