Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, vivo X500 Pro Max Launched: Prices and Specs
Xiaomi and vivo launch new flagship phones with 200MP cameras and huge batteries. Here are prices, specs and Pakistan plans.
Two of China's biggest phone makers, Xiaomi and vivo, have launched their new flagship phones within days of each other. Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max in Beijing on September 23, while vivo launched the X500, X500 Pro and X500 Pro Max in China on September 21. Both use new 2nm chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek.
All of these phones are now on sale in China. Xiaomi has said the 18 Pro series will launch globally later this year, and vivo has confirmed a European launch on October 27. Neither company has announced a date or a price for Pakistan yet.
Qualcomm's New Chips Cross 5GHz
At its yearly Snapdragon Summit on September 22, Qualcomm announced two top chips instead of one: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. Both are built on a 2nm process. In simple words, smaller parts let a phone run faster while using less battery.
Each chip has two main cores that run at up to 5.0GHz and six more cores at up to 4.0GHz. Reports say these are the first phone processors to cross the 5GHz mark. Qualcomm says the regular Gen 6 is about 10 percent faster and 37 percent more power efficient than last year's chip. The Extreme version is 13 percent faster, can record 8K video at 60 frames per second, and can run a large AI model with 30 billion parameters directly on the phone, without sending data to the internet.
This is the first time Qualcomm has split its flagship chip into two versions. Reports link the move to the high cost of 2nm chips. Qualcomm named Xiaomi, vivo, Oppo, OnePlus, Honor, Motorola and several other brands as partners.
Xiaomi 18 Pro and Pro Max Bring Two 200MP Cameras
Xiaomi is one of the first brands to use both new chips. The 18 Pro has a 6.4 inch screen and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. The 18 Pro Max has a larger 6.9 inch screen and the stronger Extreme Gen 6 chip. Both screens reach 4,000 nits of brightness, which helps in strong sunlight. They also have a privacy feature built into the screen hardware, so people sitting next to you cannot easily read what you are doing.
Both phones keep the small second screen on the back that Xiaomi first added on the 17 Pro series. It is 2.7 inches on the Pro and 2.9 inches on the Pro Max. It can show notifications, music controls and mini games, and Xiaomi says more than 100 custom cards are available at launch.
The biggest change is the camera. Both phones have two 200MP Leica cameras on the back: a main camera and a periscope zoom camera with 3.2x optical zoom. A 50MP ultra wide camera completes the setup. The Pro has a 7,000mAh battery and the Pro Max has a very large 8,500mAh battery. Both support 100W fast charging.
Prices Jump by Up to 50 Percent
The price list is the bad news. In China, the 18 Pro starts at 5,999 yuan (about $840) and goes up to 8,999 yuan for the model with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. The Pro Max starts at 6,999 yuan (about $980) and goes up to 9,999 yuan. Special editions cost as much as 10,999 yuan.
That is a big jump from last year. The base 18 Pro costs 1,000 yuan, or 20 percent, more than the Xiaomi 17 Pro did at launch in 2025. The 1TB version of the Pro costs 50 percent more than before. Reports blame a global shortage of memory chips, which has raised the cost of RAM and storage for all phone makers, including Apple.
At the current rate of about Rs 41 per yuan, the 18 Pro's starting price equals roughly Rs 246,000 and the Pro Max roughly Rs 287,000. These are only direct conversions of Chinese prices. Real prices in Pakistan would be higher once import duties, PTA charges and shop margins are added.
vivo X500 Series: Three Phones With Big Batteries
vivo launched three phones on September 21. The X500 Pro and X500 Pro Max are the first phones in the world with MediaTek's new 2nm Dimensity 9600 Pro chip. The standard X500 uses the Dimensity 9600M, which reports describe as a renamed version of last year's Dimensity 9500.
The X500 has a 6.59 inch screen and a 7,500mAh battery. The X500 Pro is the compact model, with a 6.36 inch screen and a 6,510mAh battery. The X500 Pro Max has a 6.85 inch screen and an 8,000mAh battery. All three support 90W wired and 40W wireless charging, carry IP68 and IP69 water and dust protection, and run OriginOS 7 based on Android 17.
As always with vivo, the cameras carry Zeiss branding. The Pro Max has a 50MP main camera with strong stabilisation and a 200MP periscope zoom camera with 3.5x optical zoom, and it can record 8K video. vivo also showed a small 3.92 inch screen that attaches to the back of the phone, so people can see themselves while filming with the rear cameras.
In China, the X500 starts at 5,499 yuan, the X500 Pro at 6,499 yuan and the X500 Pro Max at 6,999 yuan. That is roughly Rs 225,000, Rs 266,000 and Rs 287,000 at the current exchange rate, before any Pakistani taxes. Sales in China began in the last week of September.
Phone | Screen | Chip | Battery (China) | Starting price in China |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Xiaomi 18 Pro | 6.4 inch | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 | 7,000mAh | 5,999 yuan |
Xiaomi 18 Pro Max | 6.9 inch | Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 | 8,500mAh | 6,999 yuan |
vivo X500 | 6.59 inch | Dimensity 9600M | 7,500mAh | 5,499 yuan |
vivo X500 Pro | 6.36 inch | Dimensity 9600 Pro | 6,510mAh | 6,499 yuan |
vivo X500 Pro Max | 6.85 inch | Dimensity 9600 Pro | 8,000mAh | 6,999 yuan |
Standard Xiaomi 18 Tipped for December
One phone was missing from Xiaomi's event: the regular Xiaomi 18. This year Xiaomi changed its usual order and launched the Pro models first. Leaks say the base model will follow in December.
Chinese tipster Panda is Bald posted on Weibo that the Xiaomi 18 will have a 6.4 inch 1.5K display and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. It is also said to have a 200MP main camera, a second 200MP periscope zoom camera with 3x zoom, and a 50MP ultra wide camera. That would give the cheaper model almost the same camera power as the Pro phones. The leak also mentions a 7,200mAh battery with 100W charging.
Xiaomi has not confirmed any of this. Earlier leaks this year pointed to a sharper 2K screen, so the final details may change. There is also a catch for buyers outside China. Last year the Chinese Xiaomi 17 had a 7,000mAh battery, but the global version came with a smaller 6,330mAh battery. The global Xiaomi 18 may follow the same pattern.
When Will These Phones Reach Pakistan?
No company has given a Pakistan launch date yet. vivo has confirmed a European launch event on October 27, with sales starting on November 5. So far only the X500 Pro and X500 Pro Max are confirmed for Europe. European listings also suggest smaller batteries there, for example about 6,800mAh on the Pro Max instead of 8,000mAh.
Last year's timeline gives a hint. The vivo X300 Pro launched in China in October 2025, and vivo brought it to Pakistan at the end of January 2026 at Rs 349,999, with PTA approval. If vivo follows a similar path, the X500 Pro models could reach Pakistan in early 2027, but this is not confirmed.
Xiaomi's plans are less clear. Reports expect the Xiaomi 18 series to reach global markets in the first quarter of 2027. In Pakistan, Xiaomi has not always launched every flagship officially. The standard Xiaomi 17 still has no official local price, while the Xiaomi 17T is sold here at Rs 231,999.
People who plan to import these phones from China should keep the PTA tax in mind. For the Xiaomi 17T alone, the PTA tax on imported units is listed at more than Rs 113,000, and the tax usually rises with the value of the phone. With memory prices still high around the world, Pakistani buyers are likely to see the next wave of flagship phones cost more than last year's models.