Xiaomi’s latest flagship phones were already difficult to ignore, but apparently they weren’t flashy enough. The company has introduced Transparent Special Editions of the Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, covering its new flagships in a striking red finish and pairing the look with software designed to make their internals appear visible.
The special editions are currently available in China, with the Xiaomi 18 Pro priced at 9,999 yuan and the larger 18 Pro Max at 10,999 yuan. Both come in a single high-end configuration with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
Despite the name, Xiaomi hasn’t simply fitted a clear glass panel to the back. The red rear panel uses a textured finish created with what Xiaomi describes as a micron-level film process, producing a three-dimensional embossed effect.
The transparent theme continues digitally. Xiaomi includes custom wallpapers for both the main display and the smaller rear screen that recreate the appearance of internal phone components. Even the accessories get the treatment, with matching transparent-red versions of the charging brick and cable included in the box.
Underneath all that red, however, these are essentially the same Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max that were already announced.
Both feature 1-120Hz OLED displays alongside secondary screens on the rear. Photography is handled by a Leica-branded triple-camera system consisting of a 200-megapixel main camera, 200-megapixel periscope telephoto with 3.2x optical zoom and 50-megapixel ultrawide.
The processors differ between models. Xiaomi equips the 18 Pro with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, while the 18 Pro Max steps up to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. Both special editions use LPDDR5X memory, UFS 4.1 storage and Xiaomi’s circular cold-pump cooling system.
Battery capacity is similarly enormous. The smaller 18 Pro carries a 7,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, while the Pro Max stretches that to 8,500mAh. Both support 100W wired charging, 50W wireless charging and 27W reverse charging.
They run HyperOS 4 with Super XiaoAI 2.0 and also include features such as UWB, NFC, Dolby Atmos and water resistance.
There’s no performance advantage to choosing the Transparent Special Edition, then. This is Xiaomi turning its most expensive configuration into something deliberately loud and collectible — and that deep red pseudo-transparent design certainly isn’t trying to disappear into your pocket.
