The Xiaomi 18 may be closer than we expected – reports coming out of China indicate that one seller has started taking blind pre-orders for the upcoming model. This isn’t an official sale by Xiaomi, mind you. And the actual launch may not take place until December, anyway.
The phone is described as a “well-rounded flagship” that will have a flat screen. A 6.4” screen, if rumored specs are correct. It’s not clear whether it will have the privacy display feature, but the answer is likely “no”. Another display-related difference between the Xiaomi 18 and the 18 Pro is the lack of a rear display.
A seller in China is taking blind pre-orders for the Xiaomi 18
There is some uncertainty around the camera – some reports claim that it will have two 200MP modules (main + tele), but at least one report lists the telephoto camera as having a 50MP sensor instead.
The phone is supposed to have the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chipset (the non-Extreme version like the small 18 Pro), up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage (in this economy?). The battery will have a 7,200mAh capacity and will support 100W wired charging and unspecified wireless charging (probably 50W like the other two).
Anyway, the blind pre-orders are just a reservation – fans in China can put down a refundable deposit to get first pick of color and memory configuration. The seller who posted the original message also promises “exclusive benefits” but says nothing about the price of the Xiaomi 18.
The seller’s post about the Xiaomi 18 • Machine translation
For reference, the Xiaomi 18 Pro launched at CNY 6,000 for the base 12/256GB unit. Speaking of which, the Xiaomi 18 Pro and the 18 Pro Max will launch globally next week on November 17. They will be joined by the Xiaomi Watch S5 41mm, the Xiaomi Smart Band 11 and the Xiaomi Clip (clip-on earbuds), plus various Mijia appliances.
After that, Xiaomi will bring the 18 Pro to India, but the exact timing is unclear for now. Interestingly, we saw leaked specs for a “Xiaomi 18T”, so the Xiaomi 18 family may grow beyond three members.
