What you need to know

• The Xiaomi 18 Pro is rumored at €1,449 for 12GB/256GB and €1,649 for 512GB. The 18 Pro Max reportedly lands at €1,849 with 12GB/512GB.
• Global models may get smaller batteries, with the Pro dropping to 6,000mAh and the Pro Max to 7,050mAh.
• Battery endurance looks promising on paper, with reported runtimes of up to 66.5 hours for the Pro and 70 hours, 40 minutes for the Pro Max.

Xiaomi’s new flagship phones could be headed to global markets with eye-watering price tags and smaller batteries than their Chinese counterparts. The Xiaomi 18 Pro may start at €1,449 for the 12GB RAM/256GB storage variant, with the 512GB model potentially costing €1,649, according to a new report from YTechB. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max reportedly starts at €1,849, with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

Xiaomi hasn’t confirmed those prices, but they do indicate the company is pushing its Pro line more firmly into premium territory. To recap, the regular Xiaomi 17 launched in Europe at €999, while the Xiaomi 17 Ultra launched at €1,499. That leaves the global 18 Pro just €50 shy of last year's Ultra flagship, which is not exactly the kind of pricing that shouts bargain.

Larger bills, smaller batteries

The pricing news comes with another possible compromise. The global Xiaomi 18 Pro may feature a 6,000mAh battery, a decrease from the 7,000mAh capacity found in China, according to YTechB's report citing listings on the European Product Registry for Energy Labeling. It’s also said that the Pro Max will go down from 8,500mAh to 7,050mAh.

The charging speeds may also differ. The global Pro is expected to support 90W wired charging rather than the 100W in China. The Pro Max is said to keep 100W wired charging, whereas both models are expected to retain 50W wireless charging.

The listings also reportedly state a battery life of up to 66 hours and 30 minutes for the Pro and 70 hours and 40 minutes for the Pro Max. Both batteries are also rated to hold 80% of their capacity after 1,000 charging cycles. The numbers are reassuring, but in the real world battery life will, of course, be dictated by how people use their phones.

Premium hardware needs premium justification

The Xiaomi 18 Pro series was unveiled in China with dual 200MP Leica cameras, dedicated rear screens, and hardware-based privacy screens. The Pro Max also gets Qualcomm’s more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chip.

Xiaomi has another reason to hike prices, as rising DRAM and NAND prices are likely putting pressure on smartphone makers. But buyers paying flagship money are going to want more than impressive specs on paper.