Xiaomi 18 Pro & Pro Max prices leak ahead of global launch
The forthcoming Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max smartphone duo are going to cost a lot of money, if a recent leak proves accurate.
Xiaomi confirmed that it would be launching its new flagship smartphone range to the wider world last month, with a global launch coming before the end of 2026.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max look set to be prohibitively expensive.
According to a report from Ytechb, which has a solid track record for phone leaks, the smaller Xiaomi 18 Pro is set to start at €1,449 (approx. £1,219) for the 256GB model, moving up to €1,649 (approx. £1,387) for 512GB.
The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, meanwhile, will set you back €1,849 (about £1,556) for 512GB. It’s not entirely clear from the report whether 512GB will be the starting configuration for this device, or even the only one available globally.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Since then, Italian retailer Epto has listed the two phones ahead of their global launch, with prices that don’t match up to the ones above – as spotted by Android Treasure.
The Xiaomi 18 Pro is listed at €1,398.90 for the 12/256GB model, and €1,591.90 to double the storage to 512GB.
Meanwhile, the 18 Pro Max only comes in a 12/512GB configuration priced at €1,783.90. However, listings for the high-end model in White and Velvet Red, with different model numbers, are slightly cheaper at €1,761.90.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Major price rises
It’s difficult to make a direct comparison with last year’s global Xiaomi flagship line-up, given that we didn’t get either of the Xiaomi 17 Pro series models here in the West.
What we got was the €999 (£899) Xiaomi 17 and the €1,499 (£1,299) Xiaomi 17 Ultra. Whichever way you cut it, the Xiaomi 18 Pro series looks set to be expensive.
The fact that the ‘base’ Xiaomi 18 Pro starts from just €50 less than the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and all its bells and whistles – including a whopping great 1-inch main camera sensor and a variable zoom telephoto – says a lot.
Xiaomi is far from alone in the price hike department, with manufacturers right across the board struggling with the ongoing AI-driven memory component crisis.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Our advice right throughout 2026 has been to look at buying from the 2025 vintage if you want to secure a real smartphone bargain. Unless we see some big price drops around Black Friday, that’s likely to remain true until the end of the year.
Away from the matter of pricing, the report also seems to confirm the battery capacities of these global models. It seems the Xiaomi 18 Pro will feature a 6000mAh (vs 7000mAh in the China model) battery, while the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max will go with a 7050mAh (vs 8500mAh) unit.
Smaller than their Chinese counterparts, for sure, but still sufficiently meaty. Not as meaty as those alleged price points, mind.
