Xiaomi 18 Pro and Pro Max and iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have arrived within a few days of each other, both touted as the new benchmarks in their respective premium tiers (Apple and Android ecosystems).
They are more two opposing philosophies than two overlapping products: on one side an hardware package pushed to the extreme on every front, on the other a more targeted update on a few key elements. The most interesting differences emerge precisely by looking at where each brand chose to concentrate its efforts.
Xiaomi 18 Pro and Pro Max share the same flat unibody chassis, with a quad-curved micro-arc frame that reduces display edges to just 0.99 mm, IP66/IP68/IP69 certification and above all the secondary rear display (2.7″ on the Pro, 2.9″ on the Pro Max, both at 120 Hz), designed for notifications, shot previews and widgets without needing to wake the main screen.
The launch color options are the same for both: Black, White, Ice Peach Pink, Starry Blue and the Transparent Edition, with a semi-transparent rear shell.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max instead follow the opposite approach: no second screen, but a unibody aluminum chassis with Ceramic Shield 2 on the front, IP68 certification (up to 6 meters for 30 minutes) and four colors, including the new Burgundy alongside Black, Silver and Ice.
Apple leans heavily into sustainability and also claims 40% of overall recycled materials, with 100% recycled cobalt in the battery and 85% recycled aluminum in the chassis.
On the front, the two pairs look more alike than one might expect: Xiaomi 18 Pro has a 6.4″ AMOLED 1.5K panel, Xiaomi 18 Pro Max rises to 6.9″, both at 120 Hz LTPO, 300 Hz touch sampling and a declared peak brightness of 4,000 nits, plus HDR10+, HDR Vivid and Dolby Vision.
iPhone 18 Pro uses a 6.3″ Super Retina XDR OLED (2,622 × 1,206), iPhone 18 Pro Max goes to 6.9″ (2,868 × 1,320), both with ProMotion up to 120 Hz and a declared outdoor peak brightness of 3,000 nits.
The real difference remains the second rear display on Xiaomi’s models, a feature that the iPhone has never had in any generation.
Xiaomi 18 Pro mounts the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 at 2 nm, with GPU Adreno 845; the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max instead steps up to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, with Adreno 850 GPU and a faster NPU for AI workloads.
The octa-core Oryon CPU (2 cores at 5.01 GHz, 3 at 4.03 GHz and 3 at 3.74 GHz) is the same on both models: what differentiates them are therefore the GPU and NPU, not the CPU’s maximum frequency. Our deep dive into the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Extreme goes into detail on the differences between the two variants.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max share the same chip A20 Pro, also at 2 nm, with a 6-core CPU, a 7-core GPU (+40% vs predecessor) and a dual 16-core Neural Engine that doubles the AI processing power.
Apple has also redesigned the vapor chamber, with a surface three times larger than the previous generation, to sustain peak performance longer during heavy use.
Xiaomi 18 Pro and Pro Max mount the same rear configuration: Leica triple camera with Summilux lenses of 200 + 200 + 50 MP, consisting of a 200 MP main sensor (f/1.67, with optical stabilization), a 200 MP periscope telephoto (3.2x optical zoom, OIS, 12 cm macro) and a 50 MP ultra-wide (f/2.4, 102° field of view, 5 cm macro), plus a 50 MP selfie camera on both models.
What differentiates the two is the main sensor: the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max adopts the Light Fusion 960L version, with a broader dynamic range and the LOFIC technology improved compared to the Light Fusion 960 on the standard Pro.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max take a different approach: the 48 MP Pro Fusion system introduces a 6-blade variable aperture, adjustable from f/1.48 to f/4.0, paired with a telephoto lens offering 8x optical zoom and up to 40x digital zoom.
Apple also adds Pro controls for manual adjustment and the Apple Reference Image feature, designed to verify the authenticity of a shot. The selfie camera is 18 MP with f/1.9 and Cinema mode up to 4K.
Xiaomi 18 Pro houses a 7,000 mAh battery, Xiaomi 18 Pro Max climbs to 8,500 mAh: both support 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, as well as 27W wired reverse charging and wireless charging.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max do not disclose capacity in mAh, but Apple’s estimated endurance is up to 23 hours of general use on the Pro and 29 hours on the Pro Max. Teardowns have revealed batteries of 4,056 mAh (Pro) and 5,391 mAh (Pro Max).
In terms of charging, the two Apple flagships use a 60W USB-C power adapter while wireless charging goes up to 25W (with MagSafe, with integrated magnetic connectors under the chassis).
Xiaomi 18 Pro and Pro Max arrive with Android 17 and HyperOS 4 preinstalled. iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max debut with iOS 27, with Apple Intelligence features built in as standard (except for Siri AI, currently not available in the European Union). In short, the eternal Android vs iOS dilemma.
| Feature | Xiaomi 18 Pro | iPhone 18 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 151.8 x 72 x 8.46 mm | 71.9 x 150 x 8.75 mm |
| Weight | 203 grams | 211 grams |
| Colors | Black, White, Ice Peach Pink, Starry Blue, Transparent Edition | Black, Silver, Ice, Burgundy |
| Certification | IP66/IP68/IP69 | IP68 |
| Display | 6.4″ AMOLED, 1.5K, 120 Hz LTPO + rear display 2.7″, 120 Hz | 6.3″ Super Retina XDR OLED, ProMotion 120 Hz |
| Peak brightness | 4,000 nits | 3,000 nits |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 | A20 Pro |
| RAM | 12/16 GB LPDDR5X | 12 GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 256/512 GB or 1 TB UFS 4.1 | 256/512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB NVMe |
| Battery | 7,000 mAh | 4,056 mAh |
| Wired charging | 100W | 60W |
| Wireless charging | 50W | 25W, MagSafe |
| Main camera | 200 MP, Light Fusion 960, f/1.67, OIS | 48 MP, variable aperture f/1.48- f/4.0, OIS |
| Ultra-wide | 50 MP, f/2.4, FOV 102° | 48 MP, f/2.2, FOV 120° |
| Telephoto | 200 MP periscope, 3.2x optical zoom, OIS | 48 MP, f/2.8, 8x optical zoom, OIS |
| Selfie | 50 MP | 18 MP, f/1.9 |
| Bluetooth | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Launch price in Italy | China from 5,999 yuan, about €785 | From €1,489 (256 GB) |
| Feature | Xiaomi 18 Pro Max | iPhone 18 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 163.39 x 77.6 x 8.39 mm | 78 x 163.4 x 8.75 mm |
| Weight | 235 grams | 249 grams |
| Colors | Black, White, Ice Peach Pink, Starry Blue, Transparent Edition | Black, Silver, Ice, Burgundy |
| Certification | IP66/IP68/IP69 | IP68 |
| Display | 6.9″ AMOLED, 1.5K, 120 Hz LTPO + rear display 2.9″, 120 Hz | 6.9″ Super Retina XDR OLED, ProMotion 120 Hz |
| Peak brightness | 4,000 nits | 3,000 nits |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 | A20 Pro |
| RAM | 12/16 GB LPDDR5X | 12 GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 256/512 GB or 1 TB UFS 4.1 | 256/512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB NVMe |
| Battery | 8,500 mAh | 5,391 mAh |
| Wired charging | 100W | 60W |
| Wireless charging | 50W | 25W, MagSafe |
| Main camera | 200 MP, Light Fusion 960L, f/1.67, OIS | 48 MP, variable aperture f/1.48- f/4.0, OIS |
| Ultra-wide | 50 MP, f/2.4, FOV 102° | 48 MP, f/2.2, FOV 120° |
| Telephoto | 200 MP periscope, 3.2x optical zoom, OIS | 48 MP, f/2.8, 8x optical zoom, OIS |
| Selfie | 50 MP | 18 MP, f/1.9 |
| Bluetooth | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Launch price in Italy | China from 6,999 yuan, about €916 | From €1,639 (256 GB) |
In China, Xiaomi 18 Pro starts from 5,999 yuan (about €785) for the 12/256 GB cut and goes up to 9,999 yuan (about €1,308) for the 16 GB/1 TB configuration in the Transparent Special Edition. The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max starts from 6,999 yuan (about €916) for the 12/256 GB up to 10,999 yuan (about €1,439) for the top-end Transparent edition. Full coverage of the official launch in China is available in our dedicated article.
Unlike previous generations, Xiaomi confirmed that this time the Pro series will also arrive in Western markets by the end of 2026, although no precise date has been set for Europe or Italy yet. As soon as they are announced, we will update our comparison with Euro prices.
The iPhone 18 Pro starts from €1,489 for the 256 GB cut, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts from €1,639, both available also in 512 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB variants, already on sale in Italy from September 18. All the details on the Italian launch of iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are in our dedicated article.
It is, therefore, a comparison to be read with caution: Xiaomi’s price is the Chinese one, the only official at the moment, while Apple’s price is already the final Italian price.
There is no absolute winner between the two pairs, as they answer different needs from the outset. Those seeking the maximum on paper—two displays, 200 MP cameras and faster charging—and without constraints on the software ecosystem, will find in Xiaomi 18 Pro and Pro Max a more aggressive package, today available only in China with a Global launch confirmed by the end of 2026.
Those who remain in the Apple ecosystem, or prioritize a more refined manual camera control system (with variable aperture) and a longer stated battery life at the same charging pace, will find in iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max an update already available and purchasable in Italy, even if at a higher price than their predecessors.
For all the latest on both brands’ ecosystems, you can find our most recent articles in GizChina.it’s Xiaomi and Apple sections.
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