Xiaomi has confirmed the Xiaomi 18 Pro will feature a hardware-based smart privacy display, similar to Samsung's. The screen remains clear from the front, while side brightness reportedly drops to around 1% beyond 60 degrees. Privacy protection will also work with specific lock screen notifications and floating windows.

Xiaomi has already confirmed that the Xiaomi 18 series is arriving very soon with a magical rear display. Now, the company has revealed another major feature coming to its new flagship lineup. Similar to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Xiaomi confirmed the Xiaomi 18 Pro will feature a new smart privacy display.

Samsung introduced Privacy Display with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, using the display hardware to make it difficult for people looking from the sides to see your screen. Xiaomi is bringing similar technology to the Xiaomi 18 Pro. In a teaser posted on Weibo, Xiaomi confirmed the Xiaomi 18 Pro will ship with what it calls a smart privacy screen. The privacy effect is built into the display itself rather than relying on software or a third-party privacy screen protector.

When active, the person directly in front can still see the display properly, while someone looking from the side sees a much darker, nearly black screen. Xiaomi claims it's going further than Samsung. One downside of Samsung's Privacy Display is that enabling it makes the screen look slightly dimmer for the user. Xiaomi says its implementation won't compromise normal front-on viewing. Once you move beyond a 60-degree viewing angle, Xiaomi says side brightness drops to roughly 1%, making the display appear almost completely black.

Similar to Samsung, Xiaomi is building software controls around when privacy mode kicks in. For example, it can automatically protect specific notifications on the lock screen, and the feature will also work with floating windows. The Xiaomi 18 series is set to launch in just a few days, so we should learn much more soon.