Xiaomi 18 sees a battery upgrade rumor that's passable at best
- Rumors suggest the Xiaomi 18 could receive a modest ~200mAh battery boost over the previous model.
- If true, that would place its Chinese version at ~7,200mAh, but it's unclear if this same boost or more could hit the global version.
- Xiaomi's president, Lu Weibing, stated in a livestream last year that the Dynamic Back Display was popular, pushing the series to shatter records, and that the company would seek to do it again.
Xiaomi's next flagships (at least the top two versions) have been rumored for a while now. However, what's entering the fray is a rumor about an upgrade that its base version could bring to extend your usage.
Late this weekend, tipster Digital Chat Station (DCS) posted on Weibo about an upgrade Xiaomi is supposedly bringing to the base Xiaomi 18 (via GSMArena). The tipster suggests the Xiaomi 18 could receive a 7,200mAh battery when it debuts. Nothing's certain yet, but the 18 series could appear in the second half of 2026 if we're looking back to the 17 series' September 2025 arrival.
DCS adds that the device in question is a "prototype," so perhaps this battery total will change. As it stands, the Xiaomi 18 is only preparing for a modest 200mAh upgrade over the 7,000mAh cell in the 17. However, the publication notes an important fact: this 7,000mAh total was only present for the Chinese version of the Xiaomi 17. When it hit global audiences, that total dropped to ~6,330mAh. Maybe Xiaomi will increase totals a little more than 200mAh, or perhaps they'll keep it the same.
What's more, in the comments, Chinese users were discussing the phone's alleged specifications, to which DCS claims, "if you want both good image quality and a large battery, just buy a large-screen phone" (machine-translated). GSMArena expands on this, adding that the Xiaomi 18 is rumored to feature a 6.4-inch display and a 200MP telephoto lens. Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 is rumored, which isn't so surprising.
The Pro, Pro Max are cooking
Xiaomi's next flagship Pro and Pro Max have been talked about, but that's because the company's "magic" display, or "Dynamic Back Display," was so popular with consumers. Xiaomi's president, Lu Weibing, held a livestream shortly after the series debuted, stating the devices shattered pre-order records "minutes after" going live. While the 17 Pro performed well, it was the 17 Pro Max that was the shining star. Both devices offer a 2.1-inch Dynamic Back Display with unique interactions.
The company states it has already increased the budget for its R&D department to continue this design on future phones. More recently, rumors about the phones followed what Xiaomi's president said late last year. However, these rumors say the back display could increase to 4 inches with "higher brightness" and "privacy protection."
Android Central's TakeI'm hoping Xiaomi boosts its global version's battery a little more than 200mAh. Sure, it's already a good cell. 6,330mAh is great for keeping you engaged, playing, and scrolling all day long. But there's a pretty wide gap in battery capacity between the global and Chinese versions. Do the numbers have to match one-to-one? Not really. I wouldn't say I'm that picky. But boosting it by maybe 400, 500mAh would be nice.