The vanilla Xiaomi 18 to offer something Ultra on its back

The Xiaomi 17 Pro for reference. | Image by Xiaomi

The Xiaomi 17 series is still super fresh, but it's 2026, which means that in some months time, we'll get the Xiaomi 18 and with it – an interesting hardware upgrade, as it seems.

A camera boost

In the era of computational photography and software tricks, the Xiaomi 18 could stand out with a periscope zoom camera on its back. Folded optics are usually counted as an exclusive feature of high-end flagship phones, but the vanilla Xiaomi 18 might change that.

The Xiaomi 18 series is expected at a point at the end of 2026, but let's hope this rumor sticks around and turns out to be true.

The periscope leak is courtesy of well-known tipster Digital Chat Station – they don't directly name the Xiaomi 18 series in their claim, but hints about it are left in the comment section below their post.



What's more, the (machine translated) post claims we should also expect a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, wireless charging (maybe with boosted speeds), and "high-specification waterproofing" as standard across "all models".

As a reminder, the Xiaomi 17 has a standard telephoto with a 2.6x optical zoom. So, maybe the periscope might take the Xiaomi 18 to 3.5x or 4x?

But a periscope is not just about reach.

It's special

Periscope cameras on smartphones are special telephoto systems designed to deliver real optical zoom without making the phone thicker. Instead of stacking lens elements straight out from the sensor, they arrange them sideways inside the phone, using a prism or mirror to bend incoming light. This longer light path allows the camera to zoom in optically, capturing distant subjects with far better detail than digital zoom, which simply crops and enlarges an image.

The main advantage of a periscope camera is improved long-range photography, making it useful for shooting distant objects, portraits, wildlife, or sports.

There can be challenges with light loss or image softness, but advances in sensors, stabilization, and optics have reduced these issues over time.

The rear screen stays

Since we're on Xiaomi, it's worth pointing out that the Xiaomi 18 Pro models are expected to retain the rear screen of its predecessor.

As you probably remember, Xiaomi managed to stand out in 2025 by adding a secondary rear display to its Xiaomi 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, and the gamble appears to have paid off. Strong demand, including a 20% year-over-year sales jump and a record launch for the Pro Max model in China, has pushed Xiaomi to double down on the idea.

The company plans to invest further in its rear displays, which already handle widgets, wallpapers, and camera controls, and will soon gain features like real-time translation.