Xiaomi 18 Pro Max

At Rs. 375,999, the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max sits almost level with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Rs. 387,495) and well below the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL (Rs. 469,999). For that money it brings a newer 2 nm chip, a much larger battery than Samsung's 5000 mAh cell, 100W charging with the charger in the box and two 200 MP cameras.

The compromises are mostly about software and support rather than hardware:

• Units built for China ship without Google Play and with many preinstalled apps.
• Xiaomi's official update commitment for this model is not confirmed, while Samsung promises up to 7 major OS updates.
• PTA status and local warranty depend on the version a seller offers.

Verdict: strong value for buyers who want the biggest battery, fastest charging and best zoom at this price and are happy with Xiaomi's software. Buyers who put long-term updates and a fully polished experience first should look at Samsung.

Official specs: a 6.9 inches LTPO AMOLED panel with 1208 x 2624 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision and HDR10+, 2160Hz PWM dimming and up to 4000 nits peak brightness.

Real-world use: the panel is very bright, which helps outdoors and offsets the main trade-off of its headline feature, the privacy display. With one button it hides the screen from people sitting beside you, and it can turn on automatically for selected apps, notifications or locations. Gaze detection uses the front camera to warn you when another person is looking at your screen.

Xiaomi's HyperRGB layout keeps a full red, green and blue set for every pixel, so sharpness drops less in privacy mode. The limits:

• It only blocks left and right views, not views from above or below.
• Viewing angles are slightly worse overall, with a rainbow tint when seen at an angle.
• The setting sits under privacy settings rather than display settings.

The small hole-punch cutout and the fast ultrasonic fingerprint reader round out a front that is easy to live with.

The phone runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, a 2 nm chip whose two prime cores run at about 5 GHz. It is the higher-clocked version of the chip used in the Xiaomi 18 Pro.

Real-world use: benchmark results are roughly 15 to 20% higher than last year's flagship chips, and everyday use is very fast, even on the China version loaded with preinstalled apps. The top models pair the chip with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, cooled by a large vapour chamber, so multitasking and app loading should not be a concern.

Limitations: sustained gaming, heat under long loads and battery drain while gaming have not yet been measured in full testing. Raw power is not in doubt; how smoothly Xiaomi's software uses it over months of ownership is the open question.

Official specs: a 200 MP f/1.7 main camera, a 200 MP periscope telephoto with 3.2x optical zoom, a 50 MP ultrawide and a 50 MP selfie camera, with Leica lenses and video up to 8K@30fps.

Real-world use:

• The main camera uses a large sensor and produces excellent results again.
• The telephoto is the biggest upgrade. Its sensor is about as large as the main camera on many phones, so photos cropped beyond 3.2x keep a lot of detail.
• The ultrawide is clearly the weakest of the three.
• There is no variable aperture; Xiaomi relies on larger sensors instead.
• Leica colour profiles, a full 200 MP mode and 8K video are all included.

The small rear screen works as a viewfinder, so you can take selfies with the main cameras instead of the front one. The camera rings now sit flush with the glass, which makes the back easier to swipe but also easier to smudge.

Low-light photos and video stabilisation have not yet been judged in a full review.

The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max uses an 8500 mAh silicon-carbon battery, larger than last year's model, without dropping the dual nano-SIM tray or becoming heavier than the iPhone it competes with.

Charging:

• A 100W charger comes in the box. In five minutes the phone held around 80 watts and went from 12 to 25%.
• 50W wireless charging works with the right charger.
• 27W reverse wireless charging lets it charge another phone, including an iPhone.

Full battery life tests are not available yet, and a big capacity alone does not guarantee the best endurance; efficiency matters too. Still, this is one of the largest batteries in any flagship sold in Pakistan, paired with charging that is far faster than Samsung's or Google's.

The phone runs Android 17 with HyperOS 4. The interface borrows heavily from the iPhone, with a Dynamic Island-style alert area, a control panel pulled down from the top-right corner and glass-like effects, so iPhone users will feel at home quickly.

Useful extras include a customisable rear screen (calendar, step counter, animated pets and more) and an AI assistant that works across Xiaomi's tablets, smart lights, appliances and cars.

Limitations:

• The new side button is reserved for AI: a short press does nothing or saves to Xiao AI memory, and only a long press can start a voice note, silent mode or the privacy display. It cannot open any app you choose.
• The China version has many preinstalled apps and needs Google Play installed manually.
• Xiaomi's official update commitment for this model is not confirmed yet, so check it before buying, especially against Samsung's 7-year promise.