Xiaomi is finally making rear displays on phones useful. The Xiaomi 18 Pro series’ secondary screen now supports core Google services including Google Maps, YouTube Music, and Spotify. Plus, there’s a built-in GenAI toolkit letting users craft custom apps to run on the back panel.
What’s new in Xiaomi 18 Pro’s rear screen
The Xiaomi 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max stand out thanks to a color touchscreen on the camera island—something like what flip-fold phones have for their cover displays. That screen is high-resolution and now goes beyond status or camera previews. With the update, users will be able to control playback in YouTube Music and Spotify (pause/play, skip) while also seeing song information and cover art. On Google Maps, the rear screen displays navigation progress and the next turn indicator.
Custom apps via onboard GenAI
A major upgrade: Xiaomi is adding a tool that uses generative AI so owners can build their own rear display apps. Just describe what you want the app to do, and the onboard AI generates it. The idea is to eliminate the “just a useless screen” criticism that many rear displays have earned.
The Xiaomi 18 Pro line is poised for global launch, bringing these features to customers beyond its initial markets. Xiaomi had previewed these upgrades via AMA sessions led by its VP and Chief Marketing Officer, using platforms like GSMArena to showcase how well the integrations work.
This comes on top of other flagship-level features of the 18 Pro series: HyperOS 4 on Android 17, a privacy screen, huge battery capacity, Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, among others.
__Why this matters:__ Many manufacturers have experimented with rear displays, but most ended up being gimmicks. Xiaomi’s push to integrate familiar Google apps and allow user-made apps signals a shift toward genuine utility. If this works well, it could set a new bar for second-screen innovation on smartphones.
