Xiaomi has put a second screen on the back of a phone twice now, and outside China nobody has been able to buy one. The 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max stayed home last year. The 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max go on sale internationally after a launch event in Paris on November 17, so this is the first time the rear display gets judged by people who were not already sold on it.
Ahead of that date, Xiaomi has confirmed that Google Maps, YouTube Music and Spotify will work on the rear screen. The two music apps give you playback controls and the album art without turning the phone over. Google Maps goes further and shows directions on the small display, which is the first thing on the list that a plain notification panel could not do.
What Else The Rear Screen Does
Notifications show there, as you would expect, and the screen doubles as a viewfinder so you can take selfies with the main cameras instead of the front one. Xiaomi’s own Weather app is supported too.
The more unusual addition is what Xiaomi calls Back Display GenAI apps. Rather than picking from a fixed set of widgets, you describe the small app you want and the phone builds it for the rear screen. Xu Fei, Xiaomi Group’s chief marketing officer, has posted a demo of that on Weibo, and a September report from the China launch said these mini apps can be pinned to the back for quick access.
Why Xiaomi Is Announcing Apps Before The Phone
The rear display only earns its place if it saves you from turning the phone round, and three apps people already use is a stronger argument than a wallpaper picker. The 18 Pro carries a 2.7 inch panel on its camera island and the Pro Max a 2.9 inch one, and both run the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 family, so the hardware was never the question. Whether a second screen is worth paying for was, and the next four days are Xiaomi’s chance to answer it before the phones reach a market that has only seen the feature in reviews.
The Paris event streams on Xiaomi’s YouTube channel and X account at 1 PM UTC on Tuesday.
