Xiaomi 18 Pro rear display to run Google Maps, Spotify and GenAI-made apps

Xiaomi plans to make the rear screen of its new Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max useful. According to a report from GSMArena, the company says the small display on the back will support Google Maps, YouTube Music, Spotify and a range of other apps. The details build on AMA videos posted on X by Xu Fei, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of the Xiaomi Group.

The rear block that holds the cameras carries a full-colour touchscreen with high resolution. Its look resembles the cover screen of a flip-style foldable, such as the Galaxy Z Flip 8 or the Motorola Razr line. Music apps get large play, pause and skip buttons, along with the album art and the song title. Google Maps shows a progress indicator for the route and the next turn.

Xiaomi also lets users build their own rear-screen apps. A built-in generative AI tool creates an app from a plain description of what the user wants. The reports suggest this could address the limited use that earlier rear screens on other phones have had.

What is still unknown: the reports do not give a price or a date for the global launch, only that a global debut is planned. It is also unclear how well the third-party apps and the AI tool work in daily use, and whether every market gets the same software and features.