Xiaomi 18 Pro Max Hands On: First To Rock The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme

On the 18th of its name, Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, a device that has the distinction of being the first to feature Qualcomm's top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme processor. The phone, which is set to launch globally this year, comes equipped with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, with an additional 6GB of virtual RAM that was noticeable during hands-on testing.

Despite the presence of an impressive array of specs, the phone remains a China-only model, lacking Google's Mobile Services (GMS). This oversight was apparent to both the reporter and the other tech journalists present. The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max continues to build on the design of its predecessor, the 17 Pro Max, by featuring a smaller secondary display on the back.

This display is customizable and interactive, serving as a high-resolution selfie camera display. The main display, a 6.9-inch LTPO AMOLED panel, offers vibrant colors and ample brightness, though it also attracts fingerprints easily. Xiaomi has also implemented a Privacy Display feature, although initial impressions suggest it falls short of expectations.

The phone's camera setup is equally impressive, with a 200MP main camera, a 200MP periscope telephoto lens with a 3.2x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide sensor. Despite the reporter's limited time to test the camera's performance, they assert that the 200MP sensor captures a significant amount of detail under well-lit conditions.